Unbroken: Rise of the Horde

Chapter Nineteen

Catra gave Double Trouble the order to distract the Princesses at Bright Moon long enough so that they wouldn't catch on. 

Once again, on the morning of battle, Hordak felt off. Before the Siege of the Scorpion Den, the clone thought it was weird how he was staying behind rather than fighting. He was the brains behind the operation, never truly seeing battle. Now after twenty eight years of hiding in his sanctum, he was finally going back into the field. The weapon was ready, and he was about to become the most dangerous soldier on Etheria.

Hordak took a skiff out to the docks. The smell of salt and sand was carried forwards by a breeze before he could see the brilliant blue of the sea. He switched the gears into parking, and the vehicle slowed to a halt. The sun sparkled off of the water, despite the rainbow and black of oil tarnishing its wonder. Massive ships flying black flags were parked at the docks. Seagulls flew overhead, but made sure to give the Horde a wide berth.

The warlord hopped off the skiff and began to look for Catra. With him, he took a box lined with velvet on the inside to protect the cargo it contained. After a couple of minutes of stumbling through huge swaths of Horde soldiers and narrowly avoiding cargo crates, he found her leaning against a huge lamp post. Her ears twitched at the sound of his approach, but her eyes remained trained on the screen in front of her.

"I trust that your spy has reported in?" he inquired, sparking the conversation.

Catra huffed, putting away her port screen. "They have,"she announced. "Double Trouble reports that the Princesses are still overwhelmed at the defeat to take back Dryl."

Hordak stiffened. The huge maze-like castle had once been the home of Entrapta. Now she resided in Bright Moon with the rest of the Rebellion. He pushed his shock away. Like Catra said, no one mattered anymore.

"Have they caught on to the fact that those weren't our main defenses?" he asked.

The Force Captain laughed. "Double Trouble messed the mission up so bad that it didn't' even matter how few soldiers were there!"

"I see," he hummed. "What is our current knowledge of the Princesses?"

Catra rolled her eyes. "They're trying to find the Horde spy who keeps foiling their plans."

Hordak's jaw clenched. "If they catch on before..."

"I know, I know," Catra growled. "I said it, too. Double Trouble says they have it covered."  The Force Captain was certainly putting a lot of trust into this new recruit.

"Whatever," Catra said, folding her arms. "We're wasting time. MOVE IT! FASTER!"

The soldiers carried the massive crate did exactly as she ordered.

"As soon as we get the rest of these weapons aboard, we can set sail."

Was it just the dawn lighting? Or did Catra turn pale at this notion? Hordak didn't blame her. Water wasn't his specialty either. It was simply too unpredictable. There was no sense to it. Unfortunately, it was the best lead that they had.

The best chance we have of finally ending this charade.

"If we are to leave on schedule, we better make haste," Hordak affirmed.

The Captain nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. He decided to leave her to her thoughts. After all, it wasn't easy being a murderer.

Hordak climbed up the ramp to the deck of the largest ship. High above him, the Horde symbol fluttered in the early morning wind. Horde soldiers scattered to make way for him, something he'd gotten used to long ago.  He gave the soldiers little notice as he quickly headed for his Captain quarters. Already, how he was on a boat was getting to his brain.