“The time is near. This could be our moment of destiny, and at this moment it’s vital that we keep it frosty and know exactly what we’re doing.” Her piercing blue eyes lit up with a zealous fire as she said, “This could be what we’ve waited for all these years. We could be the generation of Gate who actually reach the gateway itself. For this chance alone we should be thankful, and should not squander it lightly. It is thanks to our friends from outside that we have the little knowledge we possess of those who stand in our path, and it is also due to them that we are able to glean information from the sacred texts that may help us.”
She glanced across at Doc. “Doc Tanner has deciphered the meaning of one of our old maps, and it is from this that we know the ways into the underground lair of those who guard the gateway. Together with Doc and Ryan Cawdor, I have worked out a plan of battle.”
Moving forward into the throng of Gate who waited anxiously on her every word, the warrior queen began to single out some of her Amazons, tapping them on the arm or shoulder and murmuring one syllable commands in a tongue Ryan didn’t recognize. The warriors thus selected split into small groups, obviously picked by the queen so that they would be able to fulfill specific tasks in the forthcoming battle. Some of the smallest and wiriest of the women were singled off into groups that would be able to traverse the smallest of spaces, while the larger and more heavily muscled were selected for a head-on attack.
The small groups continued to divide until there were eight of them, each consisting of five or six warriors. The men of the tribe were directed to keep base camp defended and the young of the tribe safe from harm. This, as ever, was the task they were trained and best suited for, especially in such circumstances that would demand close fighting and combat skills.
The companions divided up so that they, too, would travel with each of one of the groups. As the slightest in stature and musculature, Jak and Dean were singled out for two of the groups that had the smallest of the Amazon warriors. Mildred, J.B. and Krysty each took a group. Ryan would be with Gloria, and knew already from their discussions that he and the warrior queen would lead the main assault on the elevator shaft that should—if the plans were correct— lead directly into the lair of the Illuminated Ones.
Doc would travel in a group with Margia, and already he was eying the easy way in which the blond armorer was toying with a laser blaster.
“Do you think you will really get the chance to use that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I hope so, sweetie. If not, well, I just may have to make that chance.” She smiled. It was a cold smile, the eyes stone hard.
Doc bit hard on his cheek to avoid giving anything away in his expression, but made a note to keep an eye on the blonde, even in the heat of a firefight. The laser blasters were erratic enough in the hands of those who knew how to use them, let alone in those of someone like Margia, who had no practical or combat experience with the weapon.
With the groups now divided, Gloria once more took her position at the head of the camp, with Ryan and Doc close at hand.
“Now that we’re in combat groups for the battle ahead, it’s time to talk tactics. We’re lucky enough to have discovered—via Doc Tanner—that we have a map to this building that lets us see all the entrances into the places below ground where the guardians of the gateway have based themselves. They don’t know we have this, but they know we’re here, so we’d have to be complete stupidworks to assume that they don’t have every entrance guarded, except maybe for these…”
She beckoned to certain groups—those including Jak and Dean, and those consisting of the slightest and most petite members of the tribe—to gather closer to where she and Doc held the old map. The other groups moved in behind, but allowed those indicated to gather at the front, as that was obviously of the most concern to them.