The Fight for Mongo

The fight for Mongo's liberation had reached a critical point. The rebellion, inspired by Flash Gordon's example, had led to freedom for many of Mongo's peoples but things were at a crisis point. More troops were needed on the revolution's side to ensure victory. In quest of those troops, Flash Gordon, now a general in the army of the rebellion, journeyed to Grand Thule, Mongo's furthest north kingdom to urge it potentate, Satrap Ra-Hesh, III to release his huge army of mercenaries to join the fight against Ming the Merciless. Dale Arden would not hear of her love traveling without her. Flash was against it as the trek to the distant kingdom would be an arduous one and because it was not known how his overture would be received in the kingdom that valued its independence and privacy. In the end, however, he could deny the trim, beautiful brunette nothing.

Flash's fears were eased a bit when Prince Barin agreed to loan him an air car for the long journey. With the supplies and extra fuel, they needed to bring there would be no room for Doctor Hans Zarkov. The good doctor was needed in any case to help invent new weapons for the beleaguered revolutionary army.

If the satrap could be convinced to send even a division of his mercenaries, it could turn the tide of battle. As it was, the soldiers under the capable leadership of Prince Barin, Flash, and the various rebel generals were holding their own. An influx of fresh troops would make all the difference. Rumor was Ming had sent emissaries to the satrap's normally neutral country with the same goal in mind. Not the most skilled of diplomats, Flash was counting on Dale to help smooth things over, if necessary, with the satrap. He was a well-known ladies' man who adored meeting beautiful women. He was certain to be charmed with Dale, especially if she was willing to do a bit of innocent flirting for the cause.

The air car landed just outside the satrap's palace. Dale pulled her fur coat tightly against her slender form to offset the icy chill of the northern wind. Both she and Flash were impressed by the architecture. White filigree, gentle arches, and, slender white towers. Its central dome, which covered the throne room was covered with solid gold tiles held in place by silver rivets. This led Flash to comment,

"The satrap has much to lose if he were to fall on Ming's wrong side, his wealth, his position and power, also, his legendary harem."

"But he and all of Mongo would gain so much if Ming were overthrown," returned Dale.

"Neutrality has brought peace to his realm and stabilized his power."

"You shall have to really sell this alliance, darling."

"The freedom of Mongo depends upon it."

Dale placed her hand on Flash's arm, "Not to mention what Ming the Merciless would do to you if the rebellion fails, Flash."

"Prolonged painful torture and a miserable death for me would actually be preferable to your fate, darling. They would parade you naked through the streets before you spent the rest of your days languishing in Ming's harem, doing the most grossly objectional duties, living at a pervert's whim. The prospect is monstrous!"

"We have to succeed, Flash!"

The lovers kissed deeply.

Men wearing the crimson and cream uniform of Grand Thule approached the vehicle.

Flash opened the top and stated,

"Greetings! I am General Flash Gordon. This is my companion, Dale Arden. I believe that his eminence the Satrap Ra-Hesh III is expecting me."

The soldier returned Flash's salute.

"Very good sir. If you would be so good as to accompany us."

Flash exited the air car. Dale noted, on her side of the vehicle, that a dark-featured and quite handsome lieutenant was extending his arm, offering to escort her. She returned his brilliant smile and accepted his arm. She fell into place three paces behind Flash and the other Grand Thule officer. They strode past saluting guards into lovely halls, tastefully furnished. Dale noted that the Thulians tended to be tall and limber, and dark hair predominated. At an interior room, Dale and Flash's coats were taken. Inside, the palace was toasty warm.

"What a handsome group of people!" exclaimed Dale at one point. Then they entered the throne room. The words ornate, stunning, sumptuous, and spectacular were all inadequate. On an intricately carved throne of amber and ivory sat the satrap. Dale's eyes widened with delight. He was as dashing as a matinee idol, with black hair, black shining eyes, a neat goatee, and an attractive mustache. It was clear by the cut of his cloak that he was sleekly and powerfully muscled. The voice inside of Dale's head said, "You'll have NO trouble flirting, girl!" then she chuckled softly.

Flash presented his diplomatic credentials to the satrap's page. He stood at attention and waited to be recognized.

"General Gordon, come forward."

Tall, athletic, and blond, Flash made his way to the foot of the throne. He bowed respectfully.

"Your eminence! I come on an urgent mission with a profound proposal for you."

"I am well aware of the nature of your errand, General Gordon. My men inform me that you arrived with a companion."

"Yes, your eminence." he signaled, and Dale made her way to his side.

She could feel the potentate's appreciative stare as his eyes ravenously devoured her. Dale was grateful that she had selected a demure green gown for this audience. It was a bit tight in the bodice and followed the line of her trim, nubile body but otherwise concealed everything. She curtsied politely.

"A truly ravishing creature!" exclaimed the satrap.

Dale returned the royal smile and did the best she could to appear nonchalant as he focused on her.

Ra-Hesh, III whispered into the ear of one of his attendants before he spoke again.

"General Gordon, if your aim was to convince me that your side should be the one for which I fight because it has the most beautiful and delightful women in the entirety of Mongo, you have almost convinced me."

Dale beamed. After a beat, the satrap continued, "But, unfortunately, wars are not fought for the sake of beauty."

The smile faded from Dale's face. The satrap addressed her,

"While I appreciate your presence, and would love nothing more than a gentle conversation with you over dinner by candlelight, I am also quite sure, beautiful one, that discussion of statecraft, army strength, and so forth will bore you to tears. I invite you to have tea with my hostesses."

It wasn't a request. It was a polite order. A red-tressed young woman in brief attire appeared at Dale's side and offered her hand. Dale accepted it and the redhead led her from the throne room. She did not approve of the hostess's, short skirt and midriff baring crimson and cream uniform. It wasn't the brevity of the attire that bothered Dale. After all, since arriving on Mongo, Dale's Twentieth Century contemporary fashion sense had been altered profoundly. Life on the new alien world had found her clothed in some mighty scanty things more times than she could count. Sometimes this was by her own choice, but just as often, abbreviated fashions had been selected for her by captors or conspirators. Ming forced her into revealing and demeaning fashions whenever she was compelled to be in his presence. In fact, it seemed as though, the entirety of the population of Mongo was determined to clothe Dale in as little as legally permissible. Vultan, the ruler of the Hawkmen abducted her shortly after her first arrival on Mongo. In short order, she was clad in just a jeweled brassiere and a long skirt slit all the way to the hip on one side. The psychotic Witch Queen and her merry band of evil lesbians, incensed at some imagined infraction on Dale's part, had stripped her down and flogged her for "impertinence." In a Mongo prison, two mannish female guards took utter delight in tearing off Dale's clothes before roughly searching her and then providing her a prison uniform that was barely a step above total nudity. When visiting Arborea, Prince Barin's kingdom, the royal wardrobe mistress, at his direction, always clothed her in the shortest of skirts! No, the cut of the attire was not the problem. rather it was the sheerness of the fabric. With almost no imagination, anyone at all could deduce every detail of the hostess's intimate anatomy through the fabric! Dale believed that at least something should be led to the imagination. The hostess's attire, was, in Dale's eyes, most unladylike. She found herself in a cozy paneled room. A warming fire blazed in the hearth.

"Our local tea is famous in all parts of Mongo," stated the hostess.

"Yes, I'm familiar with it!" responded Dale. "I take mine light on the milk."

"As you wish, madam."

The hostess stepped out of the room for a moment. Dale thought it odd that they would leave her alone. The room filled with purple gas. Dale gasped and cried out. The world spun.

**

In the throne room, Satrap Ra-Hesh, III, announced,

"General Gordon, I am quite sure that I can anticipate every argument you will make. As you know, Emperor Ming is also interested in my mercenaries."

He turned to the left. Flash followed his gaze. Entering the throne room wearing the uniform of a cavalry officer in Ming the Merciless's army was General Tao! Flash's first instinct was to reach for his sidearm, but he quickly realized that if he did so, the satrap's guards would be quite justified in killing him where he stood.

The distinguished general approached Flash.

"General Gordon."

He extended his hand.

Not wanting to acknowledge the tyrannical general but understanding that he was essentially under a flag of truce, Flash extended his right hand.

The men shook hands. The satrap asked for their attention.

"Ah, here at least in Grand Thule harmony predominates."

Both generals eyed the satrap.

"I know what both of you are thinking. What is this betrayal? How can the satrap bring us both here?"

He paused. It was clear from the reaction of the opposing military men that he had adequately assessed their mental state.

"A word of explanation. For the last two centuries, Grand Thule has been at peace. Our neutral stance has brought us prosperity and a fair bit of independence. Our physical distance from the rest of Mongo and our penchant for minding our own business has allowed us to fly as silently and invisibly as bats under the nose of Ming the Merciless. Now, all of Mongo is caught up in a great conflict that threatens to ensnare me and my people. There are for me three choices. Throw my lot in with the revolution and hope that they overthrow Ming and bring about a new order. Throw my lot in with Ming and abet him in his quest to crush the rebellion. Or stay the course and try to remain above the fray. Either way, it brings profound change for me and my people.

If I throw in with the rebellion and they lose, Ming the Merciless will exact a punishing revenge. If I throw in with Ming, and our combined forces crush the rebellion, he will expect me to integrate my realm into greater Mongo. That means increased taxation, probably a permanent garrison of imperial soldiers, and all my decisions under a microscope, called into question, and most probably, countermanded from above. In short, my power curtailed. Not an attractive option. If I steer the third course and stay neutral neither side will be happy, the war will continue far longer, and many more on both sides end up dead. At war's end, both the victors and the vanquished will see me as a pariah. My country's future after that is perhaps worst of all, no one will want to trade with us. in all of Mongo, we will be even more of an afterthought than we are currently. As things now stand, Mongo knows us primarily as that cold place to the north. Few venture here, though they devour all our furs and ivory in their tanneries and factories. We also attract the outcast and downtrodden from the rest of Mongo. Here they are trained and honed to an elite fighting force admired by all of Mongo. Both sides covet my mercenaries. They are in many ways my country's most valuable asset. They are my protection against invasion. They ensure the trade routes stay open and that the fur and ivory flow out to greater Mongo. So, gentlemen, I am in a real quandary.

Place yourself in my position. I am suddenly the leader of Mongo who is shown the most interest by all sides. My realm is irretrievably altered no matter what course I choose, so, how do I choose the right one? Perhaps a greater power can choose for me? That is where you gentlemen come in. There is a rite of passage for all royal sons in this nation. In the far north, past where the still wild Enit people live is the domain of the ice beast. Tall, imposing, and ferocious, they are essentially death to all but the bravest and boldest of men. I slew one when I was just thirteen to prove that I was both a man and worthy of the crown. Here, I thought, is the answer to my dilemma. We shall allow the gods of the snows to make my decision for me. Generals, it is my intention to send both of you to the far north for thirty days. Whichever of you slays an ice beast with only an Enit ice lance shall win the alliance for your side. If neither of you succeeds in killing an ice beast, or just as likely, if both of you are killed in the attempt, my country shall remain proudly neutral. I shall send you with a contingent of men so that you do not eliminate one another and to ensure that the killing of the ice beast or the lack of killing of the ice beast shall be properly and fairly reported."

Flash and Ming's general looked first at each other and then at the satrap. It was a devilishly clever plan that left the satrap's hands entirely clean.

**

Dale awoke an unknown amount of time later. She found the room unchanged. She was still resting on the couch she swooned into when the gas appeared. Had she simply imagined the purple mist? The hostess must have entered the room while Dale was unconscious because there was now a teapot, cup, milk, and saucer present. She poured some out and took a sip. It was all very strange. She called out, but no one entered the room.

"Horrible way to treat a guest!" she groused as she continued to sip her tea.

**

"I note," continued the satrap that both of you had the presence of mind to supply a hostage for yourselves."

"Hold on!" began Flash.

The satrap raised his hand for silence. "The hostages ensure that you do not take the opportunity to slay your opponent while in the northern wilds. Murdering your opponent will result in the death of your hostage. General Tao has supplied his brother, Admiral Eando. General Gordon has supplied his lovely companion, Dale Arden."

Flash's hands became fists as anger coursed through his body. "Leave Dale alone!"

Ra-Hesh glanced at Flash with a twinkle in his luminous brown eyes. With a wave of his hand a miniature version of his palace was towed into the room by two scantily clad hostesses. The replica palace floated on a column of air. It was placed in the middle of the room, giving Flash and General Tao a perfect view. The satrap clapped his hands and a wall of the palace fell away. There, sitting on a miniature couch and sipping from a tiny cup was Dale Arden, only now she was no more than a foot tall!

Dale's eyes grew big, the teacup clattered to the floor, and Dale let out an ear-splitting scream.

Flash launched himself at the satrap but was held back by his guards.

"Patience, General Gordon, I shall explain."

Flash managed to get ahold of himself. The satrap's guards backed off.

"While a private prison cell is apt for General Tao's brother, in the case of Miss Arden, that is not an option. I exposed your companion to a certain gas composed by a scientist in my employ. It has done her no damage; it has only rendered her tiny. You, General Gordon, should be grateful. Now, Miss Arden cannot be penetrated by me, which you, as her lover, would be most in fear of, knowing my reputation with and my eye for beauties such as she. She will be treated like a queen and shall be always protected. At the end of the thirty days, exposure to a second gas will restore her to her previous stature. You have my vow that at the end of that time, I shall do so, no matter your fate General Gordon."

"Dale! Are you alright?" Flash asked.

The beautiful girl took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. "I seem to be, darling. Oh, Flash I am so scared."

"I am sorry to have frightened you Miss Arden, but I doubt you would have voluntarily allowed yourself to be shrunk."

"If you have harmed her!"

"Not at all, General, as I said, she has just been rendered tiny."

Flash's face became flushed.

"Before you launch into vituperation, consider; would you be sanguine with her left behind by you full size? Would I be able to control myself? Would she be swept off her feet and unable to control herself? No, General Gordon. The best way to preserve her honor and not lose the affection for each other that you clearly possess in titanic amounts is by taking that issue completely out of the equation. Oh, I suppose I could have found her a private cell in the women's prison, but that has male guards who could imperil her privacy and, of course, sordid women. It is also quite remote and very cold every hour of every day. Unlike Admiral Eando, she does not have a thick skin developed by years of military discipline. Here she will dwell in warmth and luxury and enjoy the diversions and entertainments of my court."

Flash relaxed. As irritating as the satrap's words were, they made a great deal of sense. Ra-Hesh had a reputation for ruining innocent women. Dale, alone with him, would be vulnerable. Flash was well aware of how handsome the satrap was. Leaving Dale alone for a month with the dashing, romantic, and interesting satrap would be like leaving a butchered pig with a gourmet cook. With her tiny, he couldn't possibly...

"I think it best you and General Tao leave within the hour for the great white north. All of Mongo wants a decision sooner rather than later," said the satrap.

"May I speak to Dale privately for a few moments?"

"Certainly."

Flash strode over to the miniature palace and said,

"Dale, I can't say I am happy about what the satrap has done but I understand his reasons. All of Mongo is counting on us. I am going to have to leave on Ra-Hesh's errand. Facing an ice beast sounds horrible, but I've defeated worse creatures. Be strong, Dale, and be brave."

Dale placed her hands on her hips,

"You come back to me; you hear me Flash! If this ice beast has a lovely pelt, bring it back and have them make a coat out of it for me. I will wear it in triumph when I am returned to my old size and freedom rings in Mongo!"

He bent and placed a gentle kiss over the entirety of Dale's gorgeous countenance.

"Be careful of the satrap, honey."

"I can handle him easily, even at this size. You go out and do what you must for Mongo. I'll be thinking of you every day and praying hard."

"It is time to leave, Gordon!" Hissed General Tao.

With a final salute, Flash turned away from Dale. She blew him a kiss and wiped a tear from her eye. The opposing generals and the retinue of the satrap's soldiers formed into lines and marched out of the throne room. Newly falling snow and harsh winds greeted them outside.

Once they were out of the room, Dale glared at the satrap.

"What mission did you send them on? What is an ice beast?"

Ra-Hesh repeated to Dale a summary of his words to both generals.

"Flash is sure to win. He can never fail!"

"We shall see if the snow gods agree with you, Miss Arden."

"I really must protest being robbed of my height!"

"That is for your protection, Miss Arden."

"I'd like to believe that your eminence, but somehow it doesn't ring true. You could have had your women lock me into a device, for example."