Rogue Warriors:
Season Two, Episode Ten
By Andy Dunn
After about a few weeks, Zeus finally dug his way back to the entrance of the mineshaft. He was overwhelmed with relief and anger whilst he was dirty, exhausted and was dying of hunger. After a few minutes of walking, he got a remote control out of his jacket and pressed one of the buttons on it. His ship then de-cloaked in front of him and he entered it. After he had a shower, made a big meal for himself and changed into fresh clothing, he took off from the planet surface and left the atmosphere.
After a few minutes, he calmed down and then pondered.
“The Rogue Warriors are going to do everything in their power to bring down the Metrolian Empire and stop me from gaining devastating power. Maybe The Metrolians already have powerful weapons. I think I should infiltrate one of their bases and obtain blueprints and knowledge of their weapons, so I can create my own,” he thought to himself.
He then powered up his engines and warped into space.
*
The Enterprise was currently in the middle of warp. The entire ship was on red alert. Charles was on the bridge as pondered by himself. The rest of the Rogue Warriors were in engineering as they worked on the engine core.
Dave was the closest to the core as he worked on maintenance.
“CORE TEMPERATURE RISING TO 65%” said the computer systems.
“Easy, easy, Dave! Hurry up with it. We don’t want the core to overload!” lectured Chucky.
“Look, will you just be patient? These things take time!” snapped Dave.
“Calm down, guys. We need to focus and work together. One slip up and this ship will blow,” stated Simon.
Dave continued to work on the core.
“Ok, I think that’s it. Try the venting systems now, Carol” he called.
“Ok, Dave” said Carol as she worked on a station.
There was a slight pause.
“CORE TEMPERATURE DROPPING TO 45%” said the computer system.
They all let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness for that” said Vicky.
“Do we know what caused the core temperature to rise?” asked Cathy.
“Err… yeah. I’m afraid it was me,” said Dave nervously.
“WHAT!!?” yelled everyone.
“I’m sorry. I was relaxing in here by the core with a big bowl of chilli con carne. And I accidentally spilt some on the station and it overloaded” explained Dave.
“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!!” yelled Chucky.
“Do you know how dangerous that is?!” shouted Helen.
“I’m sorry,” pleaded Dave.
“Everyone, report to the bridge, now!” ordered Charles through the communicator.
They all then headed for the bridge.
*
The rest of the group entered the bridge.
“What’s wrong, Charles?” asked Simon.
“The sensors are picking up something. Chucky, check it out,” ordered Charles.
“I’m on it,” said Chucky as he worked on his station.
The Enterprise dropped out of warp.
The others looked on nervously.
“Do you know what it is?” asked Cathy.
Chucky continued to work.
“Yeah. It’s the Slethearian cruisers,” he said with a surprised look on his face.
Everyone then looked surprised and confused.
“What the Slethearians doing out here?” asked Dave.
“I’m not sure,” pondered Charles.
“Charles? They’re hailing us,” said Simon.
“Put it on the view screen” ordered Charles.
The view screen lowered and the Slethearian General appeared on the screen.
“Greetings, Rogue Warriors. It is good to see you all again” said the General.
“As it is you, General” saluted Charles.
“What is your fleet down all the way out here?” asked Chucky.
“We have come to plead for help,” stated the General.
“Help? What from?” asked Helen confusingly.
“You see, whilst you were gone, General Intellect and General Ruthless had gathered a large Metrolian taskforce and successfully conquered my home world” explained the General.
“WHAT!?” yelled Dave in shock.
“The planet Slethearian is under full Metrolian control and my platoon is the only existing resistance left in the universe,” explained the General.
The Rogue Warriors felt saddened by the situation.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” said Charles.
“Isn’t there any way we can help you?” asked Chucky.
“Lets join up with their platoon and take their planet back from the Metrolians by force!” suggested Dave determinedly.
The Slethearian General started to chuckle slightly.
“I really like your guts, Dave. But I’m afraid that even if we join forces, we will be no match for the Metrolians on my home world” stated the General.
“Well, what can we do?” asked Vicky.
“I’m hoping to get a lot of my other platoons back. They were taken prisoner by the Metrolians during the fighting. I’ve located where they were taken, but my platoon isn’t strong enough to even attempt a rescue mission,” explained the General.
“Say no more, General. We will be happy to help you rescue your comrades,” said Carol.
“Great. Now, follow my platoon. My comrades are held in the seventh planet of the Lynx system,” stated the General.
“We’ll be right behind you. Simon, set course for the Lynx system, warp factor four,” ordered Charles.
“No problem” said Simon as he worked on his station.
All of the ships then entered into warp in the same direction.
*
After about an hour, all the ships dropped out of warp into the Lynx system. They all then approached the seventh planet at slow impulse.
“Open the hailing frequencies again, Chucky,” ordered Charles.
“Ok, Charles” said Chucky.
The view screen lowered and the Slethearian General appeared on the screen.
“Ok, General, What’s down there?” asked Charles.
“The planet is nothing but an icy wasteland. It is a perfect location for a prison base. It is here where I detected the life signs of my comrades,” explained the General.
“But how can your comrades be down there? Almost nothing can survive on that planet surface,” stated Helen confusingly.
“Some Metrolian prison bases are stationed within the mountains to shelter from the icy blizzards and so that the prisoners are forced to mine for minerals and raw materials” explained Cathy.
“You are correct, Cathy. Because that is where I’ve located my comrades” stated the General.
Chucky had scanned the planet surface.
“It looks like the planet’s weather conditions are at critical levels of ice and snow. It’ll be too dangerous to land the Enterprise. I suggest that we take the shuttle and pack up on heavy snow equipment,” he explained.
“I think you’re right, Chucky. General, we’re going down on the planet surface with a shuttle and equipment to tackle the ice. I suggest that your troops do the same thing,” stated Charles.
“No problem, Rogue Warriors. We’ll see you planet side,” said the General.
He then disappeared from the view screen.
“Wait. If we’re all going, who’s gonna defend the Enterprise from possible attack?” asked Vicky.
“Don’t worry. I’ll just stick the auto-defence systems online will we’re gone. If anyone besides us tries to enter the ship, the defensive turrets will take care of them,” explained Dave.
“Ok then. Lets all head to the hanger and stock up for the mission,” ordered Charles.
They all then exited the bridge and made their way to the hanger bay.
*
The Enterprise and the Slethearian ships launched their shuttles and they made their way towards the planet surface. They all entered the atmosphere. A large blizzard storm was currently in progress.
The Enterprise shuttle was scattered away from the Slethearian shuttles and had landed nearby some mountains.
The Rogue Warriors had geared up on their equipment and were in the middle of plan discussions.
“There’s a large density of ice and snow out there. I’m not sure if we can even find the entrance of this prison base,” pondered Chucky.
“They’ll probably spread the number of their guards out so thinly, that we won’t be able to tell if we’re getting closer to the entrance or further away from it” explained Carol.
“Well, I just hope that we find the entrance quickly. I’m freezing my socks off in here” shivered Vicky.
“Ok, I’ll signal the Slethearian General that we’re making a move. You guys get the hot water bottles on standby” ordered Charles.
He then tried to establish a link to the General’s shuttle.
“Hello? General? Can you read me?” asked Charles through the shuttle’s communicator.
There was a large interference from the blizzard outside.
“I repeat, General? This is Charles of the Rogue Warriors. Can you read me?” asked Charles.
“Kzzz…Rogue War…kzzz…can’t quite read…kzzz… We’ve detected…kzzz…small cave…kzzz…your location. We’ll meet you…kzzz!” replied the General through the interference.
The transmission was cut off.
“What’s the problem?” asked Simon.
“We’ve lost contact with the Slethearians,” stated Charles.
“Great. So now what are we gonna do?” asked Dave angrily.
“The General’s last comment was something about a cave. All I could make out was that it is near our location. I think we should start there,” stated Charles.
“We’re gonna go out there in the freezing wastes? You’ve gotta be kidding me!” shivered Dave.
“Look, we got no choice. That cave could lead to the prison base,” stated Cathy.
“Yeah. Or it could lead to a dead end and we could be caught in a cave in. We would be in deep shit then, won’t we?!” shouted Dave.
Everyone frowned at Dave.
“Nevertheless, it’s a place to start. We might find some clue to where the prison base is,” stated Simon.
“Agreed. I think we should go now” shivered Chucky.
“Alright then, lets move out” ordered Charles.
The shuttle doors opened and the Rogue Warriors started to make their way towards the designated cave.
The snowstorm was so windy, small icicles almost cut into their faces.
*
It took them around ten minutes to reach the cave. As they went in deeper, the air started to get warmer.
“Isn’t anybody feeling a little warm in here?” asked Carol.
“Nah. That’s just your imagination,” said Dave.
“No, she’s right. I’m starting to sweat like mad in this Eskimo coat,” stated Simon as he took his coat off.
The others started to sweat and they all eventually took their coats off as well.
“Wait. This must mean that we’re near the prison base somehow,” pondered Chucky.
“What do you mean?” asked Cathy.
“Caves on are never usually this hot. This might be a disguise to cover up a ventilation shaft or an exhaust port or something,” explained Chucky.
They all looked on deeper in the cave.
“Well, I guess we have to find out what it is and where it leads to,” suggested Charles.
“Are you crazy?! That could lead to a boiler or something worse!” objected Vicky.
“Well then, you can either go outside the cave and freeze to death for all I care, or you can come with us and see where this path leads to,” lectured Charles.
“Ok, fine” frowned Vicky.
They all ventured deeper into the cave. They eventually found a small access the led to a ventilation shaft. They all crawled through the vents and eventually found a grid that was in a ceiling of a small room.
Helen took a look.
“Hey guys? Take a look at this” she called.
Everyone crowded round the grid and had a look through it.
They could see a small medical room. The desks were full of surgical and medical supplies. There was a Slethearian unconscious on a desk in the middle of the room. A few Metrolian troopers were torturing him. They cut off the hand from the Slethearian’s head and implanted a few cybernetics within his brain. They also chopped off one of his tentacles.
The Rogue Warriors looked grossed out.
Simon looked like he was about to throw up.
“This one still continues to resist us, even when he’s unconscious. I don’t think the operation will be successful,” said one of the Metrolians.
“Very well. Lets leave this slethearian to rot,” sighed the other Metrolian.
The Metrolian troopers left the room.
“Ok, lets get down there now” suggested Carol.
“Dave, open up this grid,” ordered Charles.
“Gladly” said Dave.
Dave managed to open the grid. The Rogue Warriors jumped to the floor. One by one.
They all crowded round the Slethearian.
“Oh my god!” said Helen fearfully.
“Poor guy” said Simon sadly.
There was a slight pause.
The Slethearian then woke up.
The Rogue Warriors gasped in shock and awe.
The Slethearian then looked at the Rogue Warriors and recognised them immediately.
“R-Rogue Warriors?” said the Slethearian as he struggled to speak.
“You know us?” asked Cathy.
“Yes… d-don’t any of y-you remember me…?” struggled the Slethearian.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Chucky.
“Y-you helped my… people fight off the M-Metrolians… on their f-first strike. W-we fought them… side by side” struggled the Slethearian.
The Rogue Warriors pondered for a moment.
“Hold on. You’re not captain Kruger, are you?” asked Carol.
“Y-yes…” said Kruger.
The Rogue Warriors then looked shocked and saddened.
“L-look, there’s n-no time to explain… y-you have to get o-out of here, n-now…! If t-they catch you… t-they’ll turn y-you into…” struggled Kruger.
Kruger started to cough weakly.
“Into what, Kruger?” asked Vicky.
Kruger exhaled a lungful of air and dropped dead shortly afterwards.
The Rogue Warriors felt incredibly saddened.
Cathy, Carol, Vicky and Helen were a bit tearful.
The Slethearian General and his troopers entered the room.
“Ah. I’m glad to see that you all made it safely in the base” stated the General.
The Rogue Warriors turned to face them.
“What’s wrong?” asked the General.
“We’ve located captain Kruger,” said Charles quietly.
“Captain Kruger? Where is he?” asked the General.
The Rogue Warriors pointed at Kruger’s dead body.
“Oh my god!” said the General in shock.
“We spotted the Metrolians torturing him. They cut off one of his tentacles and implanted cybernetics in his head,” explained Chucky.
Cathy then thought for a moment. She took another look at Kruger’s head.
“Hang on. These cybernetics are the same type of the ones on all of the Metrolians heads,” she stated.
“That’s odd. Why would they implant those for torture?” asked Simon.
“I’m not sure,” pondered Cathy.
Carol looked around the room and spotted a beaker full of fluids in it. On the side of the beaker, it labelled ‘Metrolian DNA’.
“What the heck! There’s a beaker of Metrolian DNA here!” she called to the others.
Everyone else crowded round to have a look.
“Metrolian DNA? Why have they got that here?” asked Vicky.
“Don’t know. This is all very confusing” stated Carol .
“Well, we’ll have to look into that later. We best find a way to free the rest of my comrades,” stated the General.
The Rogue Warriors then followed the General and his platoon out of the medical room.
*
After about five minutes, the Rogue Warriors, the Slethearian General and his troops came across an unguarded entrance to a large mine. They crept their way inside. A force field appeared behind them shortly afterwards.
“Dammit. We have to find a way to bring the force field down!” stated Charles.
As they got deeper into the mine, they could here cries of pain from other Slethearians.
They could finally see a load of Metrolian troopers.
The Rogue warriors took cover to hide with the General and his troops.
Dave took a look onward into the mine. There were lots of Slethearians that were forced to mine into the rocks for minerals and raw materials. The area was teamed with Metrolian troopers. They all held a barbed-wire whip and they constantly hit several Slethearians at a time with it.
“Good god. They’re torturing the Slethearians into mining!” stated Dave in shock.
“What?!” said the General in disbelief.
He then took a look for himself.
“Oh my god! We have to stop the Metrolians now!” stated the General angrily.
“We can’t. The area is filled with defensive turrets. We need to shut down all defences and force field first,” explained Charles as he looked on.
“When we entered, we spotted some sort of control room when we went to find you guys” stated the General.
“Great. Can you lead us there?” asked Vicky.
“Ok then, follow me,” said the General.
*
The Slethearian General and his troops led the Rogue Warriors to the control room. They killed all the Metrolians that inhabited that room.
“Ok, lets all hack into these computers and find one that controls all defensive systems in this base,” ordered Charles.
The General and his troops stood to guard the door.
The Rogue Warriors got to work on the computer systems.
After about five minutes, Simon managed to find the defensive systems.
“Hey, you guys. I’ve found them,” he said happily.
“Excellent, Simon. Have you shut it down?” asked Charles.
“I’m doing that now,” said Simon.
“I managed to find the force field to the main entrance, but I can’t permanently shut it down” stated Vicky.
“Our shuttles are by the main entrance,” said the General.
Charles started to ponder.
“How long can you keep the field down for, Vicky?” he asked.
“About ten to fifteen minutes” explained Vicky.
They all thought for a few moments.
“Well, why don’t we just go in, kill the Metrolians and come back here to bring down the force field?” suggested Dave.
“No. If we charge in with guns blazing, it’ll be a likely chance that Metrolians will shoot my comrades first,” stated the General.
“Wait. We could use a part of Dave’s plan to rescue them,” pondered Carol.
“What do you mean?” asked Helen.
“If me and Cathy turn into Metrolian troopers, we could take you guys as our prisoners and rescue the others from the inside out,” explained Carol.
“Hey, yeah. This surprise attack might work,” said Cathy.
“But we’ll have to do it within ten to fifteen minutes, otherwise we’re stuck here” warned Vicky.
“It looks like we have no other choice. Alright girls, proceed with your plan,” ordered the General.
Cathy and Carol’s bracelets started to glow. They both turned into Metrolian troopers.
“Alright. Vicky, shut down the force field entrance, now” ordered Charles.
“I just hope this works,” said Simon.
Cathy and Carol led the Rogue Warriors, the General and his troops to the mine.
*
The Rogue Warriors, the Slethearian General and his troops were led through to the middle of the mine. Some of the Slethearian slaves looked at the General in shock. The Metrolians constantly whipped them until they got back to work.
Another Metrolian trooper approached the Rogue Warriors.
“Ah. New recruits, eh? Well, I’m sure that you’ll fit in perfectly. Take them away,” ordered the trooper.
Cathy and Carol then turned back into their normal selves.
“What the?” went the trooper.
“NOW!” yelled Cathy.
The Rogue Warriors started to open fire on the Metrolian troopers. The Slethearian General and his troopers attempted to free the prisoners.
More Metrolian troopers approached the cave and tried to stop the Slethearians from their escape.
The Slethearians made their way towards the exit whilst the Rogue Warriors held off the Metrolians.
“ROGUE WARRIORS, COME ON! YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!!” yelled the General.
The Rogue Warriors started to run towards the exit.
As the last Slethearian made it out of the base, the force field reappeared in front of the Rogue Warriors. They were trapped inside the base.
“NO!!” yelled the General in disbelief.
“SHIT! We’re stuck!” shouted Dave.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you outta there,” stated the General.
“No. You guys get off this planet. Your mission is complete. We’ll find our own way out,” stated Charles determinedly.
“Ok. Good luck, Rogue Warriors. And thank you for your help” saluted the General.
The Slethearians then entered the shuttles and took off into space.
Just then, General Deathcall approached the Rogue Warriors and took them to the brig of the base.
Metrolian troopers tied them to chairs.
“Hey, let us go now!” shouted Helen.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible,” stated General Deathcall with an evil grin.
General Deathcall went over to his desk and then picked up a couple of sharp knives.
“Now then, I suppose you all know what’s going to happen now?” he said with an evil grin.
“What are you gonna do? Butcher up a little barbeque?!” shouted Dave angrily.
“Ha! I’ve killed people for lesser insults than that. You’re all gonna suffer a slow and painful death” stated General Deathcall.
He then sharpened his knife. He paced slowly back and forth whilst he glared at the Rogue Warriors.
“Lets see. Who to kill first? How about, the Polymorphs?” he said to himself as he approached Carol and placed his knife by her chin.
Carol was now in great fear and she was tearful.
Simon started to lose his temper.
“Hey, Leave her alone, you son of a bitch!” he shouted angrily.
General Deathcall then approached Simon and placed the knife by his cheek.
“How dare you insult me like that! I’ll take the pleasure of killing you first in front of everyone!” shouted General Deathcall angrily.
“Suits me fine, you bastard!” said Simon angrily as he spat in his face.
The Rogue Warriors looked on with great fear.
“I’m gonna enjoy this!” stated General Deathcall as he wipe the spit off his face and produced an evil grin.
Carol then closed her eyes.
“I wish we were back on the Enterprise,” she said fearfully.
“Ha. Keep wishing, Polymorph!” said General Deathcall with an evil grin.
He was then about to slit Simon’s throat.
Suddenly, Carol’s bracelet glowed a bright white colour that engulfed to room.
When the light faded away, The Rogue Warriors disappeared from the room.
“WHAT?! NO! HOW COULD THEY ESCAPE?!” yelled General Deathcall with extreme rage.
*
Back on the Enterprise, A bright light engulfed the bridge and when it faded away, the Rogue Warriors appeared.
They all looked at Carol with shock and confusion.
“Ok, What the hell happened there?” asked Dave in shock.
“How did we get back on the Enterprise?” asked Chucky all confused.
“I think I got us back here,” said Carol.
“What? How?” asked Helen.
“I think I can explain. Remember when we told you all that our bracelet allowed us to turn us into any form?” asked Cathy.
“Yeah” said everyone else.
“Well, It can also grant us wishes as well,” explained Cathy.
The others then looked confused.
“Wishes?” said Charles.
“Yes. It depends on what type of wish though. For example, one Polymorph can’t bring a person back to life. And we can only make wishes once every few weeks” explained Cathy.
“Then why now? Why not months ago?” asked Simon.
“Because wishes can only be granted if the holder’s heart is pure and full of love,” explained Carol as she got closer to Simon.
The others then looked awestruck.
“Wh-what are you saying, Carol?” asked Simon nervously.
“I’m saying… I love you, Simon,” said Carol softly.
Simon then blushed bright red.
Carol then kissed Simon passionately on the lips.
The others then looked on completely awestruck with their eyes widened.
“Oh my” said Charles.
“Wow. That’s so sweet,” said Helen happily.
“Good on you, mate,” praised Dave.
A few seconds later, Carol and Simon stopped their kiss.
“I love you too, Carol,” said Simon happily.
They both then hugged romantically.
A few minutes later, the Enterprise warped into space away from the Slethearian ships.
*
Zeus’s ship had landed several kilometres away from a Metrolian base.
He managed to sneak his way into a large computer storage room and killed a few Metrolian troopers within it.
He approached the large mainframe computer.
“Excellent. Now, lets find the blueprints of a possible super weapon” he said to himself.
As he hacked into the computer, he found no trace of any blueprints of any weapons.
After about five minutes, he came across some top-secret plans. As read on, his eyes filled up with disbelief and fear.
“Oh no! They can’t possibly do this!” he said with fear.
***