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Eternian Trap Ch 3

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THREE


Area 51
United States, Earth
25 May 2017

   "Fifty thousand dollars," General Hammond proclaimed. "That's how much your little escapade is going to cost this command."
   "They were sent after us, sir," Colonel Markson replied.
   "You don't have any proof. That man who spilled his guts to you led us to a dead end."
   "Doesn't mean they weren't sent. A lot of people knew at least in general where we were going." General Hammond still looked unconvinced. "All right. How did they know about that – thing – Adrian does?"
   Hammond grew thoughtful. "They knew?" Markson nodded. "The man you brought in didn't look too surprised about Sorceress except that she disguised the head dress."
   Markson raised his eyebrows expectantly.
   "It's immaterial, Jon. I received a call two hours ago from a friend in the FBI. All of those men disappeared. No one knows where they went."
   "C'mon, general. You and I got know they've been neutralized," Markson replied heavily.
   "Which means we press on with our operations despite what you and I may suspect about this incident. I have suspicions same as President Alexander. In fact, I have a bad feeling about where this might eventually lead, but we can't let that distract us." Markson was about to protest, but Hammond cut him off. "You and Captain Majourny handle the missions and leave the worrying about the home front to me."
   "Are you sure that's the way you want it?"
   "No, but other choice do we have? Forget about the incident. President Alexander has given us our next mission," General Hammond explained.
   Colonel Markson took a seat at the conference table. "Is this one going to be more fun than the first mission?"
   "Depends on your point of view. This mission has two objectives," Hammond explained, opening a folder and sliding it over to Markson. "Your mission is to insert two platoons to the target planet and scout out the situation while the Eternia goes to Phantos to look into the Horde suspicions that Queen Elmora is secretly building a battle fleet. Officially, Captain Majourny will going there seeking an alliance."
    Markson nodded in agreement. "Who gets to play ambassador?"
    "Well, you are in a prime position, colonel. You get to decide who goes to the target planet for the recon mission. If you go, Jo-jo plays ambassador. If you don't go, you get the job."
   "Adrian was right," Markson murmured.
   "You said something?"
   "This target planet got a name?"
   "Eternia. Sorceress believes she may find a cure in Castle Grayskull. She'll get the chance to find out. In the meantime, we need a read on the situation there. According to the records copied from General Rongar's ship, the fleet that came here two years ago did indeed leave to put down He-man's insurrection. We need to know what happened. There may be allies we can make. We're going to need them if we are to survive this war."
   Colonel Markson couldn't disagree with that. The question is, if there are any allies to be hand on Eternia and elsewhere, would they be of a mind to take a chance on rising up against the Horde once again?

   Gabriel 'Gabe' Burns loved his job. As far as he was concerned, he had the best job in the country. Where else on the planet could one have a near limitless budget to tinker, toy, and bring creations to life? Right now Corporals Dietrich and Frost were out on the firing range trying out the new sniper rifles that would replace their tried and true Barrett Light 50. Cabe had a hand in developing the multifunction scope for the weapon. It would allow the shooter to see not only in the usual settings of daylight, starlight, and thermo setting, Cabe also worked in settings for varying the light wavelengths through the scope, the shooter could now 'see' the energy signatures of the various robots used by the Horde.
   Thanks to the Guardian Force, Cabe's team now had examples of all the known robots models currently in service. The battle drones where proving to be unmitigated nightmares. It was no wonder Colonel Markson's platoons took so much damage. Cabe's task was to develop new weapons and systems to counter this new threat.
   Adrian Cobretti, Jake Rockwell, and Sorceress entered the cavernous laboratory easily the size of the Eternia's underground hangar. Dropships hung from ceiling cranes or squatted on landing struts in one corner. Weapons development took place in another section. Electronic systems development and upgrade went on in still another section. People were everywhere coming and going. A few paused long enough to take note of the visitors before returning to their tasks.
   It didn't take the trio long to spot their power armor standing alone in a cordoned off section. Only a select few Cabe personally trusted where allowed near the suits. If the artificial intelligences within the suits approved, the people stayed to work on them. Panels were open on all six with some of the internal components organized on tables in front of each suit.
   "Well, look what the cat dragged in," Nicholas 'Nick' Jackson drawled from behind the trio.
   "Nick! How long you been stalking us, you old swine?" Adrian snarled, grinning.
   "Long enough. Good to see you all again." Nick Jackson matched Jake in height with a touch of gray to his receding brown hair, and the beginnings of a beer gut he was trying to unload. He shook hands all around when Gabriel Burns finally spotted them.
   "Adrian!" the short black man exclaimed hurrying over to greet his favorite close friends. Though he was only several inches shorter than those gathered around him, Gabe more than made up for it in personality.
   The first warm smile Sorceress ever remembered seeing on Adrian's face blossomed and the two pumped one another's hand in a fierce handshake. "How's my favorite mad scientist?"
   "Enduring, Adrian, enduring." His bright eyes shifted to Sorceress. "You are looking as radiant and healthy as ever."
   "Hello, Gabe," Sorceress replied warmly, enfolding the man in a comforting embrace.
   "Don't give up. Though the energies from your armor work only once, we'll find a way to cure you once and for all," Cabe promised. He'd been making that promise to her for almost a year. The ability of her Falcon armor to restore her, even only one time, gave Sorceress hope that they may yet find a way to undo whatever it was that had been done to her.
   "Looks like you people have been having your way with our suits," Jake observed, looking over the tables littered with parts in various stages of repair.
   Gabe nodded. "These suits are simply fascinating. They are easily as complex as the Eternia herself, if not more so." He led the way into the roped off area. "At first, I thought we would have a hard time simply figuring out how they function. Some of the systems are still a mystery, but repairing the damaged components isn't any harder than those of the Eternia, though on a much smaller scale."
   "Gabe, you sound as though these suits aren't much different from the Eternia," Nick replied, examining several pieces removed from Sonya's Hawk armor for repair.
   "Oh, no. They are very different. Repairing the technology is not." Gabe walked over to Adrian's as yet unnamed armor. "You were right about your suit taking a liking to me, Adrian. Seems I am the only person allowed to physically touch him. Once the components are removed, he seems to trust the judgment of the other suits as to who should do the repairs."
   Adrian smirked. "Must be driving Robards crazy."
   "Indeed," Gabe agreed. "Despite the many years of inactivity they are all remarkably well preserved. All the repairs are minor things that could become more serious if not corrected."
   Nick groaned lightly, "He's got that love light in his eyes again. He'll be lost once leave on your next mission."
   "I may just stow away just so I can see them in action."
   "Jo-jo would just love that."
   "Anyone know what that next mission is?" Jake asked, not really expecting either Gabe or Nick to know.
   Both men shook their heads. "Rumor has it that it has two objectives. I wouldn't worry about it too much, Jake. General Hammond will tell you when the time comes."
   "In the meantime," Gabe spoke up, diverting this train of thought. "I have a new toy that has Jake's and Adrian's names written all over it."
   Gabe led the group away from the power armor; Sorceress, Jake, and especially Adrian taking one long last look at their weapons of war, then followed the energetic scientist. The group threaded their way through the organized chaos of testing and evaluations to another roped off section about fifty yards from the power armor. The only thing visible in the gloomy corner was vague outlines that appeared somehow familiar to Jake and Adrian.
   "You guys are gonna love this," Gabe promised. He stepped up to a portable control podium and examined the switches.
   "So what have you got for us, Gabe?" Adrian asked with an unusual amount of enthusiasm. Unusual for the normal Adrian Cobretti, that is.
   Cabe flipped several switches that activated powerful banks of lights suspended from the ceiling. Caught in the blinding white glare sat the most unorthodox vehicle yet devised by Man. Jake and Adrian recognized the design immediately. Based on the chassis of an Apache helicopter, a new weapon of war had been created. Twice the size of the Apache base chassis chopped off just past the engine mounts, the vehicle sat on eight wheels situated on four axles; two near the rear and two under the gunner's cockpit. The winglets lay folded flat against the sides in what appeared to be a cruising configuration. Though painted a slate gray, the machine had that lethal appearance a battle looking for a place to happen.
   Adrian started, "Oh, my –"
   "- God," Jake finished. "What is that?"
   "That is an assault vehicle from Hell," Adrian replied, not attempting to hide his awe. "Care to join me?" He took note Jake's shocked expression. Even Sorceress was impressed, if only by these people's ingenuity for doing the unexpected.
   Cabe ran down the stats of the war machine, as the group looked it over. "The armor is a full half-inch thick. The remaining Etherium alloy we had went into constructing the engine bay at the rear for the fusion core. With that kind of power at your disposal there is very little you can't do, except fly. The armor is covered with bullet and laser-proof glazing all around."
   Jake and Adrian opened the latches and pulled open the canopy hatches on the right side. Jake climbed into the forward seat, the gunner's station. Adrian settled into the driver's seat above and behind. Cabe climbed up on the wheel well and explained the controls.
   Sorceress and Nick listened with feigned interest. There was no doubt this machine would prove useful in the fight against the Horde. Nick was too old to be going into the field, though his spirit often wished it were otherwise. Sorceress, on the other hand, simply had no use for mechanical weapons. Magic was her weapon. One she could control a lot easier than these machines, and thereby avoid killing sentient beings that much better.
   "Are you serious?" Jake exclaimed, aghast. "Materialization equipment? That's pure science fiction."
   "Not so, my friend," Gabe replied calmly. "It is now science fact. Instead of cramming a limited amount of explosive ordinance into the guts of this thing, we adapted the energy materialization equipment found in the Eternia. As long as the vehicle has power and the weapons systems are functional, you can call up whatever ballistic ordinance suits your fancy. The schematics and chemical compositions are stored in a second computer core that operates the materialization functions. The pods are attached to the wings before they are deployed. And you program in weapons configurations so you don't have to waste time setting it up during battle."
   "So the effective payload is practically unlimited," Jake said, extremely impressed. This was ever soldier's dream.
   "Now that's pain," Adrian agreed.
   "Boys," Sorceress interrupted. "If you really want to know what pain is, carry a nine pound bowling ball around for nine months, then give birth to it by spending twelve hours in labor and trying to squeeze it out an orifice one third the size of what is passing through. That is pain." She walked away to explore the other parts of the vast chamber without another word.
   Three dumbfounded humans stared in her wake. "Did she just say-" Nick began.
   "Yes, she did," a sober Jake Rockwell finished for him.
   Had anyone looked, they would have seen Adrian hugging himself, eyes squeezed shut, and tears rolling down his cheeks. One might have mistakenly thought he was in some sort of pain. He wasn't.
   Adrian was quietly laughing his ass off!

  New York City,
  World Government Headquarters,
  United States, Earth
  25 May 2017

   "You idiots!" President Roshenko sputtered at the man sitting in shadow in his office, and the similarly shadowed man on him desktop communication screen. "You told me they were the best you could fine. FAH! They got taken down quickly enough. And their leader squealed like a stuck pig."
   "Calm down," the man in the office replied soothingly. "General Hammond can't link anything back to you. We're safe and our plans are still on schedule."
   "This time. Hammond and President Alexander know I want the Guardian Force disbanded," Roshenko pointed out. "You'll never get near them now."
   "Why not?" the shadow on the monitor asked.
   Roshenko's quick temper flared like a nova. "Because they're looking for it! You moron. If those idiots had done their job instead of playing word games we would be having this discussion."
   "They did not know anything that could eventually lead General Hammond back to use. Those thugs have been liquidated as a precaution," the shadows across the desk replied. "Let's turn our attention toward the future. Once the Guardian Force is off on their next mission we can continue our work here."
   The World President leaned back in his plush leather chair and let his gaze wander over the sparse amenities of his office. "How ironic it is that you are in this particular endeavor."
   The shadowed man grew cautious. This man may behave like a simpleton, but he was the most powerful simpleton on the planet. "What do you mean?"
   "Adrian Cobretti is court-marshaled for cowardice in the face of the enemy, though he brought the weapons that began turning the tide in our favor. Now he is one of those armored warriors with a shame trial long forgotten," the president mused. The shadows remained quiet while the tension increased. "Cobretti gets put on trial for your sins, my friend. It was your cowardice that nearly lost the day. And now here you are about bind yourself to our noble endeavor heart and soul."
   "That is ancient history."
   "Ah, but history is replete with history repeating itself. Make no mistake, gentlemen. If what we are about to do ever makes it to the light of day before things progress past the point of no return, the trial we face will be expedient and end with a gunshot or a laser blast." Roshenko paused long enough to let that sink in. His meaning was very clear. No more distractions. If the Guardian Force should meddle in their affairs, it would be dealt with at that time.
   "Now, what is the status of our Middle East operation?"
   The man on the monitor reported, "Things are moving a little slower than expected, but once the Guardian Force leaves, I see no reason to step up our operation. With Hammond and Alexander focusing on what their people are doing out there, we can move things along here as long as we are careful."
   "Very well. Just remember to cover your tracks," Roshenko reminded the men sternly. And when the time comes both of you will be taken care of, he thought smugly.
...
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