If I am to go down in flamess, I ssshall not make the journey alone! 
- — Kobra
Checkmate #18 is an issue of the series Checkmate (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1989.
Synopsis for "The Janus Directive, Part 9: Knight Fight"
All of the fighting Intelligence organization have started working together. Sarge Steele has reported this to President George H.W. Bush who is surprised by this news. The President believes these intelligence organization need to have a leader instead of deciding by committee. The president assigns Sarge Steel as this leader. Sarge Steel does not know about the weapon meant to destroy all life on Earth so he prioritizes saving the hostages in the ship. They are able to find it because Manhunter is up there using a tracking device.
The people are separated into three teams. Team A is Bronze Tiger, Vixen, Ravan, Punch, Jewelee, Captain Boomerang, Silent Majority, Checkmate Knights, Val Vostok, Black Thorn, and eventually Manhunter. They are assigned to save the hostages. Team B is Major Victory, Dr. Light, Nightshade, Duchess, Lady Liberty, Shade, Peacemaker and Briscoe. Team C is Firestorm, Captain Atom, and Major Victory.
Team C is able to go to space because Firestorm can make atmosphere and oxygen around them. They put broken spaceships in the path of Kobra's Spaceship and the spaceship decides to move to a lower orbit to not be hit by debris. The three destroy the engines which forces the ship to slowly descend to earth. Firestorm opens a bay door which allows teams A and B to infiltrate the ship. The Kobra Cult's leader assigns people to continue activating the Pulse Canon.
Appearing in "The Janus Directive, Part 9: Knight Fight"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Project Atom
- Project Peacemaker
- Suicide Squad / Task Force X
- Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond and Mikhail Arkadin)
- Flo Crawley
- Manhunter
- Sarge Steel
Antagonists:
- Kobra
- Kobra Cult
- Dr. Valland
- Blackadders
- Kobra Cult
Other Characters:
- President George Bush
- Lois Lane
- John and Cherie Chase (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is part of the Janus Directive crossover event. The correct reading order is: 1. Checkmate #15, 2. Suicide Squad #27, 3. Checkmate #16, 4. Suicide Squad #28, 5. Checkmate #17, 6. Manhunter #14, 7. Firestorm #86, 8. Suicide Squad #29, 9. Checkmate #18, 10. Suicide Squad #30, and 11. Captain Atom Vol 2 #30.
Trivia
- It is mentioned that 38 Knights were assassinated by Kobra. The remaining force totals 20 Knights, which means there was originally a total of 58.