Heart of the Fury Chapter 27: Sundered Trinity, a kim possible fanfic

The Trinity Sitch - Book 4: Heart of the Fury

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Chapter 27

Sundered Trinity

Wade nodded to Drakken, who started shutting down a number of the ship's systems manually. It would have only taken a word to Trin to do all of that, but she was busy trying to keep track of the thirty some odd starships on orbit. The young tech guru knew she really could multi-task on a higher level, but the ship's AI was acting like a pig-headed child at the moment. He was coming to learn that the more the personalities of the starships came to resemble the human mind, the more they tended to behave like humans. Trinity, as a ship-mind, was only five years old, and while their age didn't precisely correspond to human development, Wade had been plodding around in the dark as to how to guide her. In her own time, a team of experts would have done so, and he was certain some mistakes had been made along the way.

Just why did her problems have to surface when they were using the ship for an actual life-and-death mission?

He was starting to understand why the owner of the starship that the AI had been templated from forced his ship's computer to act like a computer rather than a member of the crew. It only spoke to him by on-screen text and served as an extension of the ship's controls. That didn't mean the ship wasn't thinking for itself, and in fact Trin had some of those memories, and griped about it from time to time. On the surface the computer seemed like a person, seemed like it had feelings, but in fact, in Wade's estimation, it really was just that, a command and control system for a ship-wide automation system, and without that, he would have a very hard time controlling a ship even as small as the Trinity without at least ten more trained crewmen.

As it was, he had to rely on the hastily trained Drakken. Of everyone on board he demonstrated the most proficiency with the controls. At least as long as he was able to focus. Oddly enough, he seemed able to do so when his wife and child were close by.

Wade felt a lurch in his stomach as the artificial gravity system shut off. What he was planning to do was dicey, and Trin was incredibly irate at the prospect, but Wade knew precisely what he was doing. Normally the ship would rely on the gravity generators to keep it aloft when flying within the gravity well of a planet. They system also limited the effects of radical changes in inertia on the human body, that's why the sudden feeling of weightlessness was so strange. None of them had experienced true free-fall since the generators had been in operation since they left earth.

An artificial gravity field could be their Achilles heel. Arkonian starships, at least in Trin's files, could detect them, at least if it was not shielded against such scans. Being equipped pretty much as a pleasure craft, the Trinity lacked any such contrivance. To be on the safe side, Wade was plotting a manual re-entry, just like he was programming the landing sequence of a more conventional space craft from the Middleton Space Center.

"You sure 'bout this, Wade?" Joss' voice betrayed her nerves. "It ain't like we've got wings or nothin."

"There's an old axiom among rocket scientists. Give them enough thrust, and they could fly a brick. This ship has engines capable of relativistic speeds, so once we've descended into the atmosphere enough, we can power the engines back up and fly pretty much like an ordinary airplane, wings on no.

"It ain't natural, somehow, 'sall."

"I have faith in Wade-chan." Yori said softly

Joss had to bite back a comment about how the ninja wanted more than Wade's faith in her, but Yori was her friend and the only reason she had for making such snide remarks was to cover her own fear. She thought for a moment about her 'boyfriend' back home. The guy was a lot more of a romantic playmate than a real love interest, but fate had not yet seen fit to bring that kind of guy into her life.

"Okay, we're ready. Trin, bring the ship about one hundred seventy five degrees on the x/y axis and prepare for a fifteen percent power burn on the main engines, on my mark."

"We're in position." The female voice responded in a dull monotone.

"People, this is going to be like one really serious roller coaster ride. Hope you didn't load up on my Chimiritos for lunch." He was trying to sound brave. Of everyone on board, he was probably the only one who had never been on a roller coaster in his life. Oh, he had been in simulations in his holo-cube, even adapting it to his immersion helmets, but that was nothing like the real thing. The lurching sensation in his gut got a hundred times worse as the huge engines fired, serving as a more familiar retro system.

The magnetic shields flared to life as the hull contacted the atmosphere. Without heat absorbing tiles, they would be forced to rely in the field to protect them from burning up. Trin had to keep reassuring them that starships had been using the system for two centuries by then. That didn't help any of their nerves was they were enveloped in crimson fire.

Taking the controls, Wade brought the ship around once more. They had dropped into the upper cloud layers, concealing their fiery descent as much as possible. He throttled up the engines once more, slamming everyone back into their acceleration lounges. The ship was pretty much designed for the inertial damping system to be online, so the ride was more than a little rough.

Wade was making a mental note to go ride a roller coaster when he got back to earth, preferably with Yori. He wondered if the secret life of a ninja had ever afforded her the chance to visit an hones to goodness amusement park.

The Trinity broke out of the clouds, the twin engines flaring, the ion drive vectoring to keep the craft aloft. At least the ovalized wedge design was partially aerodynamic, though the hull gave it no lift. The whole ship was pitched upwards at a slight angle as it sailed along, headed toward a towering cloud rising from a pit that made the meteor crater in North America look like a post-hole.

Kim smiled slightly as the Arkonian soldiers advanced on the two of them. She wasn't quite sure what the energy rifles they were bearing would do to them, but her trained eye was picking up something many others would miss; None of them looked very comfortable wielding the high-tech weapons.

One thing she did know, however, and that was the Torellian armor she was wearing was designed to block energy weapons to some degree. This was one of the things she had been training for with her sparring matches on the transport. That was just enough experience for her to learn how to move with it on. It was light, only slightly heavier than wearing normal clothes, and could more with her body like a second skin.

There was also another ace up her sleeve.

She tried to pretend these people were nothing more than just another band of thugs like Drakken and Dementor had pitted against them in the past. They had no more personal interest in what they were doing than simply following their leader's orders. They were fighting for a paycheck, not for the dark apparition's goals.

Kim sprung into the air, flipping once before bringing a metal clad foot down on the nearest one's chest. He was wearing some kind of plastic body armor himself, but her strike had enough force to send him sprawling back into the second soldier. His weapon fired wildly into the air, the blue beams impacting harmlessly on the domed ceiling. She took note there was no kind of explosion, giving her hope that the weapons were set to stun.

There was also the fact the tall, masked being said he wanted them for some unspoken reason. Kim had no idea who Arcus Corrin might be, but her mind was already assimilating what he had seen fit to mention during his rant. If she had time to consider it, she would have laughed about all villains being the same, ranting about their plans to the last people they should be telling.

Still, the fight was deadly serious. Dropping down, she kicked out, striking another goon in the knee. He might have been there simply because it was his job to do so, but a shattered joint would effectively take him out of the fight.

Ron didn't have the finely tuned battle instincts Kim had. He didn't see the mass of soldiers arrayed against them, all he could see was the sheathed weapon hanging from an ornate belt. The moment he laid eyes on it, he knew it was in fact the Sword of the Effurien. How he had come to be in possession of it, he had no clue. The last time he had seen it with his own eyes it was falling into the torrent of the Spiron, outside this very underground complex. It should have been lost for all eternity in the depths of the whirlpool at the center of the crater. Yet, there it was.

He knew it was not some replica either. It seemed to tug at his very soul. It was the blade he held in his hands, a weapon that was as much a part of him as the fabled Lotus Blade had been during his early days at Yamanuchi.

Launching himself right after Kim, he pulled his own sword from its mountings on his back, swinging it above his head like a veritable helicopter blade with both hands. The energy field sprang to life, leaving a trail of yellow fire as the massive blade twirled in the air.

None of the Arkonian troops were prepared for this type of resistance. Most of them had spent their lives using the weapons they had trained with, weapons that had been the staple of their world's military since time immemorial. The energy rifles were new to them, uncomfortable and unfamiliar. So far they had spent months drilling with them, firing them into stationary targets, learning to care and maintain such weapons. They were utterly unprepared to use them in battle. So far they had gotten by with fear and intimidation, relying almost totally on the power of such weapons to cow the uneducated and fearful masses, usually without having to fire a shot.

Three of them managed to bring their weapons to bear on the golden warrior leaping to a fro among them. There was a flash of yellow light, and the muzzles of their weapons clattered to the ground, making them only good as clubs.

Others were realizing the shortfalls of their weaponry, resorting to actually trying to beat their opponents with them. One soldier swung the butt of his rifle at Kim, who simply ducked, coming up under his attack with an open palm, connecting with the face-plate of his helmet. She was happy when the smoke-colored plastic cracked under the force of her blow.

Another trio of soldiers were trying to corner Ron. They had already tossed their weapons aside after hitting him point blank with the stun charges. Their adversary might have been wielding a gigantic Torellian energy sword, but that was something they were used to dealing with. If they could force him back against the wall, he would not have room to maneuver with the monstrous weapon. Close-quarter fighting with and edge weapon was something they knew. In those situations a short sword or a knife would be superior, compared to a five-foot long blade that needed plenty of space to be effective. They reached for their belts and drew plain looking but very effective knives. Their orders were to take the two alive, but they were never told how good a condition they were to be in.

Ron's power was not just the ability to create an energy field around his weapon, but to instinctively know how to use it in combat. He could tell what they were trying to do. Kim would have simply leapt over them, probably smashing their heads together, but he wasn't skilled in acrobatics. Years of trying had left him a passable fighter in that style, but with his bulkier combat armor weighing him down, he didn't quite have that option.

The three were wary of the spinning blade, but he knew if they managed to back him against the wall he would have to use it in a more conventional manner. He Found himself wishing the sword their leader was bearing actually was the magic katana. Then he would simply be able to summon it, ripping it from the ghoulish creature's grasp. For a fleeting moment, he gave up a little bit of ground and extended his hand in the blade's direction. Whatever powers being the 'Blade of the Effurien' granted him, they didn't extend to willing to sword to him.

Taking advantage of his lapse, one of them ducked inside the arc of his spinning blade, slashing across his chest. There was little the attack could actually do against the metal and polymer armor he was wearing, but it still served to force him back slightly. He cursed himself for falling for that. Taking a step forward, he felt the tip rake across the outside of his chest plate, scoring the decorative finish his previous benefactors had applied to the old armor.

The Arkonian soldier grinned behind his protective face-plate. The inexperienced swordsman had fallen for his ruse. Changing tactics, he dove under the blade once more, stabbing this time instead of slashing, looking for a weak point in the armor where its plates were joined together.

Kim kicked another soldier, sending him crashing backwards onto this butt. Half a dozen Arkonians were apparently out of the fight already, but many more were ready to take their place. She grabbed a discarded rifle and swung it around like a baseball bat, connecting with at least two of them.

The melee was taking too long, in her estimation. They were being forced to concentrate on taking on the soldiers in small groups. If they had been modern soldiers, they would have simply fallen back to a more defensible position once the battle was joined, probably adjusting the settings of their rifles so they could penetrate their armor. Instead they were taking them on face to face. They weren't as afraid of them as they thought they would be, they simply did not know tactics involving modern weapons. Their armor was helping as well. It was a lot more like fighting well trained Henchco henchmen than Drakken's doughy goons. These men knew what they were doing, and if they were armed with more traditional melee weapons, the battle might have taken a much worse turn than the stalemate they were locked in.

Ron felt the tip of the blade penetrate the outer layers of his armor, gritting his teeth against the expected pain, wrenching his body to one side to lessen the impact of the blow. That alone saved him from taking the blade right in his ribs. The plates flexed against each other, binding the weapon before it could be shoved home. The knife was nearly ripped from the soldier's hand, forcing him to backpedal while he adjusted his grip on the weapon.

The others were taking advantage of Ron's attention on the one attacker. They moved to flank him, their own blades held at the ready. As his own massive sword spun to block one, the other would move in, feinting and ducking as he tried to fend them off.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the fiend standing patiently, observing the battle from the safety of the balcony overlooking the main chamber. There was no way of knowing what the thing was actually thinking behind that horrid mask, though the face plate made it appear as if he was grinning down at them. They were so much more accustomed to creatures such as him ranting and screaming during a battle, imploring his lackeys to finish them, or something like that.

"Ron!" Kim shouted above the din. "Use your powers. Remember, just like back on Troxxite. Let it go, trust your feelings."

"KP, this is most def not Space Conflict!"

She grabbed one of her opponents by the chest plate, spinning around and slamming him into two other soldiers. "So says the guy with the laser sword thingy!"

She was right. How many times had she told him in the past he was thinking too much. This wasn't the time to be fighting as just Ron Stoppable, it was time to be the Blade of the Effurien, the greatest swordsman in the galaxy, if The Blessed Mother was to be believed.

Forcing himself to relax, he spun the blade faster and faster in a figure eight pattern, foiling his opponent's attempts to flank him. Almost as if using a dance step, he pirouetted around the nearest one, bringing the flat of his blade down on his backside, full force.

That sent the soldier sprawling. Ron suddenly found himself in the open once more, leaving the three knife-wielding soldiers in his wake. Once more, his eyes were on the one prize that truly mattered to him. That creature looking down on them, he had no doubts that was the Podondrin they had been told about, the demonic seeming leader who had conquered the entire globe with his dark powers.

He was the last person in the universe who should be in possession of the vaunted blade!

Same-old, same-old, he thought to himself was he scrambled up the curving staircase leading to the Podondrin. Kim takes on a couple dozen goons while I go after the bad guy. Sure beats simply being the distraction.

The only response he got from the armored creature was when he turned to face him. He did not speak, nor did he otherwise react, at least until Ron reached the top of the stairs.

"Foolish mortal. Do you not realize you alone do not have the power to defeat me? It would take the combined might of the Trinity of the Effurien itself to even stand a chance against my might!" His gloved hand came up, the cloak sweeping aside, revealing his massive, armored form.

There was a flash of purple light. Warnings went off in Ron's mind, flashes of memory playing back in that instant, memories of a dream that had been sent to him as a warning. In that dream he had faced Podondrin, and the being had simple gestured in the direction of their starship, violet shaded beams of energy lancing forth, destroying the ship where it stood.

He tried to dodge the blast, but Podondrin was far faster than he anticipated. The beam impacted him, but instead of obliterating him, it held him fast, much like the immobilization ray he once tried employing against Shego. His sword clattered uselessly to the ground, the yellow energy field winking out of existence once it was out of his grasp.

"Ron!" Kim screamed. She shouldered her way past a pair of attacking goons, light flaring around her body. The ante had been upped, and her hand was being forced. She wanted to hold her power in reserve unless absolutely necessary. The transformation only took a moment, completing before she took her next step.

Her wings flashed into existence, following the swing of her arm. She employed them as a weapon instead of for flight. Somehow she knew if she brought them down edge first they would have sliced right through her remaining opponents, but she still would not kill. Instead she used the broad edges to sweep the suddenly fearful soldiers out of her way was she made her way toward the Podondrin.

"At last, the Hand of the Effurien stands revealed!" Podondrin's voice boomed in the domed chamber. "Still, you are a fool to think even your great power is a match for me. The Heart of the Effurien is no more! You have no hope against my power!"

"Hope this!" Kim screamed as her gauntleted fist smashed into the armored faceplate of the villain. There was a crack like thunder as the black-clad monster flew backwards into the stone wall. Rock cracked with the impact, sending shards of broken granite in every direction.

"How did? This is impossible!"

"Oh really." Kim said quietly, standing above the momentarily prone Dark Lord of Arkonia. "Check my maiden name!"

Almost as fast as the eye could follow, the ebon warrior was back on his feet, a hand appearing from beneath his cloak. In it was clutched a large, white crystal.

"Check this, Red." He growled, as if through clenched teeth behind the mask.

Kim was suddenly stopped cold as white light enveloped her from the crystal. In an instant, she realized what it was. She had felt it's power twice before, the first time when one just like it was employed to siphon they power from one of the heroes of Go City back home, the second when that same crystal ripped that power right back out of her. The crystals returned when the son of that villain tried to use one to sap her very will.

She screamed as the silvery metal protecting her whole body started flowing toward the Podondrin.