Yes, more of it. Even though a web site is up the fics are
not on it; just to let you know ahead of time. Enjoy, or not.
* Whereby haste and word politics can score you a lot of money.
----------------------------------------------------------
--Razorclaw X (http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html)
_________________________________________________________________
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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: zoidsff02.txt
Zoids: Call of the Fire 2
Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Zoids, I am
borrowing the names, settings, etc. under fair use and
without making a profit. This work cannot be sold for
profit or retransmitted and reposted without my express
permission.
Continuity: Takes place after the Raynos appear in
the series.
------------------------------------------------
Wasteland Stardust Camp, 1900 Hours, Day 3
Three warriors sat around their modest campfire,
staring at the dancing flames, while guarded all along
the outer circle by their three Zoids-- a manta-like
Sinker, a standard Cannon Tortoise, and a quadrupedal
aerial Redler, a purple winged lizard-like creature.
It was an uncommon sight to see a team composed of one
male and two female warriors, much less warriors that
owned such a strange diversity of Zoids, but the three
members of the Stardust Team have proven themselves
seasoned veterans in their own right.
"Yesterday," one of the girls, who held her hair in a
pony-tail, said, "the Blitz Team lost to the Fire
Wheel Team."
"I heard that too," the second girl, who kept her
hip-length hair free, confirmed. "I mean, could you
believe that such losers could beat one of the better
teams?"
"I'm a little surprised," their leader, Johan,
replied. "For people with so little resources the
Fire Wheels, by all rights, should've lost." He
scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe the Blitz Team
isn't all they're cracked up to be, losing to the best
Class A team and then the worst Class A team."
"It's gotta be luck," the long-haired girl stated.
"So you're itching to see what they've got, Chika?"
the pony-tailed girl guessed. "Just because one of the
most hyped teams lost a couple battles doesn't mean
we're going to win."
"So you'd rather take on the Fire Wheels instead,
Ayame?" Chika asked in return.
"Won't it help us more if we beat the guys who beat
the Blitz Team?" Ayame wondered, staring off into the
sky. "I mean, I know we can't beat the Lightning Team,
so why don't we?"
"We'd garner more prestige," Johan countered, "if we
defeat the Blitz Team." The warrior got to his feet,
and dusted off his pants. "I'm going to transmit a
challenge proposal to the ZBC tomorrow. I'm sure our
opponents will accept." Turning away from the campfire
the leader of the Stardust Team regarded his Sinker.
"I'm dying to test the new thruster modifications I
installed in this sucker."
Ayame cast her eyes toward each of the Zoids. It was
true that the Sinker was the star of the Stardust Team,
as it possessed the greatest amount of missiles and
guns. The Cannon Tortoise was only armed with a single
mortar on its back, and the Redler its strike claws on
each of its four feet and a blade attached to its
tail. Arguably the Redler held an advantage over other
quadrupedal Zoids in that it could fly and was just as
good in the air as on the ground, but its lack of
projectile weaponry killed a lot of strategies. Yet,
melee combat was what Ayame thoroughly enjoyed.
Chika was too scared to get into melee combat, which
made the Cannon Tortoise perfect for her, even though
Johan tried and failed to convince her to trade it in
for a Gunsniper instead. It didn't surprise her, as
the Cannon Tortoise was also well-armored, despite
being incredibly slow and a huge target. Panic often
settled in for each battle in which the opponent got
within the Tortoise's minimum attack range, so Ayame
and Johan made it a point to help maintain Chika's
health and sanity as much as possible.
Johan himself was a speed fanatic, and hated the
feeling of a Zoid running through the wastes, which
is why he settled on a hovering model instead. Chika
claimed Johan got sick in the stomach driving a Shield
Liger, but the leader would deny it always. Ayame
simply didn't care, so long as Johan was good enough to
continue fighting. Other than speed customs Johan
added four top-mounted missile launchers, two to each
side of the cockpit. Ayame thought it was for surface-
to-air, but Johan insisted it was meant to hit things
behind him.
Customs often ended up being the cheaper choice, as
the Stardust Team did not earn enough money to buy a
new Zoid outright.
"Blitz Team, huh?" she mused.
Toros Base, 0900 Hours, Day 4
It seemed to Toros that his team all but forgot the
battle two days prior, and he felt it was a good a time
as any to accept another battle.
He stared at the screen mounted on his desk, then
reclined in his chair, and stared at the ceiling of
his office. It was the Stardust Team, another Class A
team looking for a piece of the Blitz Team's
reputation, but Toros knew right away that this team
wouldn't lay claim to that.
His mind wandered back to the battle two days prior;
the Fire Wheel Team certainly seemed more than the
records indicated. It seemed that their skill levels
were evenly-matched to the members of his own team, but
Toros dismissed the thought, appending the fact that
they were playing with an unofficial handicap.
Certainly, it was interesting to see some good
competition every once in a while, but now that he saw
them in action Toros resolved that the next time his
team went up against the Fire Wheels the outcome would
be different.
It wouldn't hurt to regain the team's confidence by
destroying a more reasonable-leveled team, he decided.
Fire Wheel Base, 1100 Hours
"'Backdraft Group?'" Mizuki said, perplexed.
It was one thing to get an unsolicited call from
someone you didn't know, but it was another to be
interrupted while in the simulator. On one screen was
Shizuka, who was holding the call, but the Fire Wheel
leader wasn't paying her any attention; her eyes were
forward, concentrating on manipulating the Death
Stinger on the virtual battlefield. It was like
learning how to ride a bicycle all over again.
"What do you want me to say to them?" her apprentice
asked.
"I don't care," she replied. "Just get rid of them."
* * *
Killing the transmission to the simulator, Shizuka
faced another monitor, which she placed on hold. The
creepy-looking guy with the tear-shaped sunglasses was
waiting on the other end, some Major what's-his-name,
was it? She snorted; military types were major pains
in the rear.
She sat back in her seat, and stared at the three-
screen console, and listened to the music Major Moron
was probably getting sick of, propping her feet on the
desk. Suppressing her grin, she reached back over with
her heel, and put the Backdraft guy back on.
"Well?" he asked, with a tone of impatience.
"Sorry, Major Asshole--"
"That's Palta," he corrected, now more than
irritated. "Get it right!"
"Whatever," she replied, waving her hand off in a
mock salute. "Not interested."
What was it they wanted? she asked herself again.
Oh yes. The Backdraft Group heard that the Fire
Wheels beat the Blitz Team, and wanted them to do it
again. Shizuka sighed. "Hell, you guys don't make
very good offers."
"We are offering five-times the normal prize money if
you win."
"Five-times won't cover all our expenses, especially
if they trash our Zoids. Besides, what happens if we
lose?"
"The Backdraft Group will confiscate all your Zoids
as compensation."
Shizuka's eyes narrowed. "Are you dumb, or just
plain stupid? If we run a risk fighting and losing our
Zoids if we win, and lose them if we lose, then why
the hell don't you just come down here and shoot me?
That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard."
Major Palta groaned, and looked about ready to slam
his head on the desk in front of him. It was more than
obvious he wasn't enjoying this, and for that Shizuka
could draw a little satisfaction. "Don't be surprised
if you hear from us again in the future, Fire Wheel
Team!"
No sooner had the Backdraft representative killed the
transmission, another line was ringing in. Annoyed,
Shizuka once again tapped the console with her foot.
This time it was a wild-eyed looking young man, his
hair cut neatly. The kid's backdrop caught Shizuka's
attention, as it seemed to be some kind of hangar-- one
filled with lots of Zoids.
"Greetings, Fire Wheel Team," he began. "I am Harry
Champ, a man destined to be king!"
Immediately Shizuka's expectations dropped a few
notches. Putting on her most bored tone, she asked,
"And what would His Majesty want, such that he'd grace
our lowly hovel?"
"I'm so glad you asked!" Harry replied, obviously
missing the dripping sarcasm. He pressed his face
closer toward the screen conspiratorially. "You're the
one known as 'Silencer,' are you not?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Somehow she knew where this
was going.
"It seems that you're registered as a mercenary, my
friend," he said, briefly flashing some printed
records. "Which means it's possible for you to fight
on behalf of another team."
"Dear god, no," Shizuka said, flat-out refusing. "I
don't work for peanuts anymore."
"W-wait!" Harry cried, his tone settling into panic.
"I need your help! You beat the Blitz Team!"
She rolled her eyes. "You, too? Who do I look like,
the Tooth Fairy?"
"But I need to defeat my rival!" he pleaded. "You
must've beaten him, at least!"
Rival? "Well, now, that's interesting. You want me
to beat up your 'rival,' huh? And how much are you
willing to pay me to fight him?"
"You'll do it?!" he exclaimed, obviously excited.
"Name your price!"
"Maybe if you fixed-up all our busted Zoids, and
bought me a particle cannon...."
"Deal!" Harry yelled, ecstatic. His attention was
now turned away from the screen. "Bit Cloud, you will
regret the day you got between me and Leena!!"
"'Bit Cloud?'" the warrior whispered to herself.
"The junker is this guy's... 'rival?'"
She sighed. "Moron, I didn't agree to this...."
Champ Base, 1100 Hours
"Harry!" Sebastian, one of two robot warriors in the
Champ Team, protested. "Why did you just agree to
give her the particle cannon ahead of time?"
The leader of the Champ Team turned away from the
console, having finished conducting business with the
Fire Wheel. "She says she needs it if she's going to
take on Bit Cloud."
"And you're trusting her on this?!" Benjamin, the
second robot, complained. "Didn't the last time you
hire a mercenary we still lost?"
"But this time we've got one that beat Bit already!"
Harry claimed. "This time I'm sure to win!"
Fire Wheel Base, 1200 Hours
"Going out, I see."
Professionally, people called her the 'Spider'
because her analytical mind was very good at weaving
carefully planned webs of deception, but off-duty
others knew her as Kanna. She leaned with her back
against the hangar door, between the interior and the
exterior, once to the darkness and once to the light of
the noon sun. Her arms folded, eyes narrowly open
staring toward the other side of the entrance, she
barely made out Shizuka walking out a beat-up motor
bike out of the corner of her eye, out of the gloom.
"Yeah," the other girl replied, kicking the stand on
the bike to slip on her sunglasses and scarf. The
beat-up motor bike was nothing like any real
motorcycle; it was more of a dirt bike, caked with
dried mud in all the appropriate places, and beat up
from age.
"Don't stay out long," Kanna directed. "We're
supposed to go into town tomorrow to buy some more
parts to finish the Death Stinger."
"Yeah, I know," Shizuka moaned, sounding as if she'd
heard the same conversation ten times before. "I think
I've just been volunteered to help someone, so I'll go
and come back, okay?"
Kanna opened her eyes fully, and eyed the other
warrior. "You mean someone actually bought you out?"
she asked neutrally, maintaining her poker face.
"How could I refuse? The guy came up on my offer to
pay for the repairs of all our Zoids if I fought his
rival. It's not my fault if he doesn't know what we
have."
"So you're saying you're doing this for the good of
the team?"
"I'm comin' back, you know," Shizuka insisted. "I
mean, I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for
Mizuki, so I owe her at least that much."
Kanna snorted. When it looked as if the Fire Wheel
Team was going to go under due to financial
difficulties Shizuka opted to change her registration
to reflect herself as a mercenary, and hoped that there
would come a time that someone would hire her out and
she wouldn't have to feel bad about deserting like some
others did. It was a rather cowardly way to say that
she wanted better financial stability, but it amazed
Kanna that Shizuka stuck around for as long as she did;
she had monitored her transmissions for the first six
weeks going to Shizuka and it seemed that she had been
getting offers from other teams. Yet, the only
conceivable reason Kanna could formulate that would
keep Shizuka from going was that each of those teams
did not possess the same kind of facilities the Fire
Wheels did. It was as if she wouldn't settle for
anything that was below her perception of a normal
life, even if it was at a near-poverty level.
Financially the Fire Wheels could have avoided their
money problems had they sold their more 'useless'
Zoids, the Warshark and Salamander, but both Kanna and
Shion refused to part with their machines. The Dragoon
Nest, too, was expendable, but nobody seriously
offered it up, particularly since the rooms in it beat
sleeping on the dirt. It was simply expensive to keep
that many Zoids around, especially if they weren't
being used.
Shizuka lifted her scarf over her mouth and nose,
signing off with a mock two-finger salute before
revving her motor bike. Kanna watched impassively as
the girl sped off into the desert, the sound of the
motor echoing across the landscape.
"You're getting more clever all the time," she noted,
recalling what Shizuka told her of the terms. "The
Death Stinger Mark II prototype, unfinished as is,
will surely benefit from being sponsored." Kanna cast
her eyes back into the dark hangar. "It's fortunate
that completing it won't require too many extensive
modifications, I suppose. I only wonder how well
that'll do in practice."
Toros Base, 1300 Hours
The moment the sliding double doors to the lounge
opened, Toros shouted, "Guess what, people!"
The lounge was centered around an oval table, as low
as a coffee table. To each of the oval ends were
comfortable padded seating, with Brad lounging across
one of them as if he owned it, and Bit and Leena
sitting across from him, eating lunch. Jamie sat in
another padded, but one person, seat at the opposite
end of the table from Toros, folding laundry quietly,
as usual. All of their eyes, except for Brad, of
course, were now on Toros.
He held up a data card. "We've got a match
scheduled tomorrow against the Stardust Team." He
tossed the card gently to the table, allowing it to
clatter against the table's surface.
"'Stardust Team,' huh?" Bit said, reaching for the
data card. "Is this another nobody team?"
"Stardust is the splinter group from the Fire
Wheels," Brad said, keeping his eyes shut in his
relaxed manner. "It's three people who broke off from
the bigger team because they didn't want to deal with
their financial problems."
"How come I didn't know this?" Leena asked.
"It's not as if they're very well-known," Jamie
chipped in. "There's just so many three-person teams
out there that they don't really stand out as much as
the Fire Wheels."
"But they're good on their own, too," added Brad.
"Seems to me they want a piece of us now that their
former teammates beat us."
"Well, then," Leena said, suddenly fired-up. "We'll
just have to show these guys that we're not push-
overs!"
"Or maybe that you aren't," Bit murmured.
"What did you just say?!"
He held up the data card for Leena to see. "Just
look at this: a Redler? A Cannon Tortoise? A Sinker?
Does this sound very good or what?"
"Don't try to change the subject!" she yelled,
fuming with anger. "I'll show you who's a push-over!"
"Uh-oh, here it comes," Brad said, sitting up
quickly.
Champ Base, 1400 Hours
Standing in the Champ hangar was like coming to one
of the great wonders of the world, Shizuka thought.
She turned about, her eyes cast upward, passing from
Zoid to Zoid, awe-struck.
"Impressed, eh?" Harry said, smirking.
"If I had all the pilots in the world working for me,
and this hangar, I'd conquer the world!" she declared
boastfully.
"I'm glad you approve," the leader of the Champ
Team replied.
She broke herself out of the reverie, turning her
full attention toward the young man. "Um, about our
arrangement... this will be one-on-one, or not?"
"Of course not!" he answered. "I want to be there
when you beat Bit Cloud in front of Leena!"
"Okay, whatever." She sighed. "So, what Zoid are
you best using?"
"Uh, the Dark Horn, I guess...."
A loud explosion interrupted him, throwing both
Harry and Shizuka to the floor. Debris rained down
from above, and Shizuka felt something fall over her--
probably Harry, trying to be a hero. She risked a
glance upward, ignoring the foppish guy, and indeed the
ceiling was blown away, revealing the sky.
Or rather, it seemed as if the ceiling was peeled
open like a can of sardines. High above, a silhouette
in the sky, Shizuka could make out some sort of
aircraft, vaguely fish-shaped. Immediately her view of
the aircraft was obscured by another, much larger
aircraft, descending into the hangar.
More correctly, it was closer. A black, bat-form
Zoid was landing, followed by two more. Shizuka had no
idea what this new type of Zoid was, nor did she know
why they descended, but the moment the lead Zoid's
cockpit hatch opened she knew.
It was the same guy from before, Major What's-his-
name, with the teardrop sunglasses.
"We can do this the hard way," the Backdraft officer
stated, a smile on his face. "I do prefer it like
this."
* * *
"So that's the Backdraft Group," Kanna said,
leaning closer to the console monitor of her Warshark.
Submerged beneath the sands meters under the ground
the land-modified Warshark served as Kanna's personal
submarine in the sandy ocean; she even had a tracker
periscope mod added on for such things. Sitting only a
mile outside the Champ Team base she watched the black
Whale King pry open the hangar, and deploy its black
bat Zoids. They only remained in the hangar for a mere
two minutes before taking off again.
She waited a few moments until the Whale King started
to leave, then checked her instruments to make sure
that Shizuka was indeed no longer in the hangar. One
life sign remained, for sure; it was probably the other
person Shizuka was meeting.
Retracting the periscope, Kanna powered-up the
Warshark. She shook her head. "Sometimes, Shizuka, I
wonder about you."
Undisclosed Location, 1900 Hours
She spent most of her time in the dark cell sitting
Indian-style, with her head down. Meditation was hard
for Shizuka, but Mizuki insisted it was a good
exercise in discipline-- to bring chaos into order.
For what it was worth, Shizuka tried it, but it would
do nothing to prevent her from pondering the meaning of
life.
By the time the cell door opened, and the man with
the black cape entered, Shizuka realized she spent all
of her time trying to push questions about the
Backdraft Group out of her mind, essentially making her
more edgy. This newcomer was different from the
major guy; his head was devoid of any hair, and he wore
dark goggles that looked like they were designed for
night vision, but really was probably nothing special.
A fashion statement, maybe?
"Please excuse our Major Palta," he began, his voice
deep, but with a touch of arrogance. "I am Colonel
Martin, representing the interests of the Backdraft
Group."
"So far you haven't interested me," Shizuka shot back
bitterly.
"Our organization exists not for kidnapping or
extortion, as you may or may not think," he said,
turning to the side. "We are interested in Zoid
battles worthy of entertainment. You, my friend, have
attracted our interest."
"You want me to work on your behalf; I've heard as
much."
"We want you to battle the Liger Zero for us," Martin
said bluntly. "Although we understand you cannot give
us any guarantee on that regard, your team has managed
to defeat the Blitz Team once already. I consider it
enough qualification that you could see through their
tactics and defeat them; it should be no more
difficult to defeat the Liger Zero."
"What's the big fuss over the Liger Zero, anyway?"
Shizuka asked. "It's 'Liger Zero this,' or 'Liger Zero
that;' what's the big deal?"
"That's not important," the officer told her. "What
is important is that Liger Zero is an obstacle to our
vision. We must have it."
"That's right," she recalled. "You confiscate Zoids
when the opposing team loses. So you want the Liger
Zero yourselves. If you guys recall, I don't want to
play under those rules."
"And here is we make a revision to our offer," Martin
said. "Fight for us, Shizuka, in one battle. After
the battle you are free to go, and your Zoids remain
yours. The Backdraft Group will leave you alone. If
you win you will receive five times the prize money.
If you lose... there is no penalty for losing. We want
you to fight for us."
"So what if I refuse?"
The colonel glared at her, and Shizuka understood
that she didn't want to know that answer.
"I see. Well, you know, I don't have my Zoid with
me or anything...."
"One will be provided to you. It has special
modifications which may interest you."
"Fine," Shizuka said, shaking her head. "So when's
this battle, anyway?"
Martin smiled. "Tomorrow."
Zoid Battlefield, 0800 Hours, Day 5
Leaving the Cannon Tortoise and Chika behind the
Redler and Sinker rushed out, flying low over the
ground at high speeds. The landscape was devoid of any
rocky crags or outcroppings; it was simple flatland,
the battleground where the Redler and Sinker could
truly take advantage of their off-surface speeds.
It was a simple enough plan, Johan thought. Chika
always remained at the border of the battlefield,
launching heavy shells into the battlefield to keep
the opposing team on their toes, while Ayame and
himself took care of the three opponents. Rarely, if
ever, did anyone get past their two Zoids without a
fight. The Redler's low flight speed and its strike
claws was usually enough to tear good holes in Zoid
armor, and the Sinker's guns and missiles were usually
on their mark, but sometimes the Cannon Tortoise did
hit things.
"I'll show you, Mizuki," Johan said to himself. "We
will beat this Blitz Team and make your victory look
insignificant in comparison!"
* * *
"Two incoming fast!" the Blitz Team warriors heard
Jamie warn.
Bit's Liger Zero, outfitted with the Jager unit, was
intended to help match the predicted high speeds of the
Sinker and Redler; Jamie said, according to records of
previous battles, the two Stardust Team warriors seemed
addicted to speed. The Redler dragon-type never took
off into high atmospheric flights, making surface-to-
air modifications unnecessary.
With the Command Wolf and the Gunsniper to each of
his flanks, Bit lead the charge. "Well, Liger," he
said, "it's time to show these guys what speed is all
about!"
* * *
"This sucks," Chika complained, pounding the dash of
the Tortoise's cockpit. "Every time I always have to
stay back here."
She watched the Redler and Sinker blips on the radar,
moving ever closer into the 10-mile-radius area the
Judge declared to be a battlefield. Every battle the
Stardust went into she always had to stay behind in
the Tortoise, and just shell anything she felt like
shelling. It was almost as if Ayame and Johan felt
she was a burden.
Ayame always said it was because Chika would not get
hurt, but Chika realized they only needed her for
three-on-threes.
If the battle went as it usually did the Sinker would
run circles around the opponents, drawing fire for the
Redler to make rushing tackles. The Redler had the
advantage of being an aerial Zoid with standard melee
equipment, giving it better maneuverability than a
Shield Liger or Saber Tiger, but lacking in decent
range weaponry. The only time Chika got someone was if
the opposing team somehow forgot she existed, and that
only worked once per battle.
Although it was just as annoying, co-piloting her
brother's Salamander was more enjoyable than sitting
around all day.
Chika sighed. "What good is it to be on a Zoid team
if you're not even participating?"
* * *
"That thing's faster than they usually are," Leena
noted, as the Gunsniper's targeting computer was
having difficulty pinging a lock on the Sinker. She
directed to the Hover Cargo, "Someone get a calculation
compensation for the Sinker's extra speed!"
"I'm working on it," Jamie assured her.
"What's with this Redler?!" she heard Brad shout in
surprise. "It's trying to run into me!"
"They're just playing with us," Bit realized, and
Leena checked the radar to confirm those words. Both
the Sinker and Redler were making quick passes at each
of them, probably to shake them up.
Impatience got the better of the Gunsniper pilot.
Flipping switches, Leena input her best guesses into
the targeting computer, and fired off a salvo of six
missiles at where she guessed the Sinker would fly
into. But surprise was not on her side, as the Sinker
veered off away from the Gunsniper, and the dumb-fired
missiles missed completely.
"Jamie, where's that calculation?!" she complained.
* * *
"I think we've got things under control," Ayame said,
psyching herself up for the strike claws. "I'm going
for the Command Wolf!"
"Gotcha," Johan replied. "The Liger Zero is mine!"
Smiling to herself, Ayame prepared to shut off the
Redler's boosters, circling around for one more pass on
the Command Wolf. This time the Wolf fired several
shots at her, some barely missing, but one shot got the
left wing. Deciding she had to cut to the chase sooner
than expected she killed the booster, and extended the
Redler's legs for ground position. The Zoid's claws
sank into the ground, into the dirt, against her former
velocity. Bracing herself against the cockpit from
the rough, forced landing she barely felt the Redler
being shaken by the Command Wolf's shots.
"No," she groaned, "it can't be over this early!"
Forcing the Redler into a run Ayame charged the
Command Wolf head-on, wishful that her Zoid had a
cannon on it. She dodged to the right, avoiding the
latest shot, then leaped into the air.
"Eat my Strike Claw!" she yelled, rearing back the
Redler's front right claw.
Ever watchful, the Command Wolf fired again, this
time on the Redler's underbelly. Ayame cried out in
surprise, feeling herself and the Zoid recoiling
backward against her forward momentum, slamming her
back against the seat.
The Redler landed upside-down, and Ayame looked up to
see only dirt. A high-pitched whine echoed, breaking
the sudden silence, and she knew it was already over.
"Over before it even began," she said, chuckling to
herself. "Johan's in for it this time."
* * *
"What the hell?!" Johan yelled, listening into the
Judge's transmission, disqualifying Ayame's Redler.
"Ayame! What the hell did you do?!"
Gritting his teeth, the Stardust leader shut out the
rest of the world, focusing on the Liger Zero. The
lion Zoid was right on his tail, having not fired a
single shot his direction, but it was gaining ground
every time the Sinker banked on a turn. The Gunsniper
was still sitting idle, and the Command Wolf was about
ready to come after him, too.
"Chika," he transmitted. "Fire on the Gunsniper and
Command Wolf!"
"What?" he heard the Tortoise pilot say, as if she
were not paying attention.
"Shoot them, dammit!" he ordered, fuming.
"Gee, thought you'd never ask."
Johan didn't particularly care which target she shot
at; the Liger Zero was going to catch him eventually.
He had no idea that Zoid could keep up with him, but
suddenly he realized it was the boosters on the beast's
back.
So he's a speed demon, too, eh?
He flipped on the top-mounted missile launchers,
which were oriented skyward. Adjusting the targeting
computer, hoping for a good hit, Johan launched two of
the deadly warheads, and hoped for a miracle.
* * *
"What?!" Bit exclaimed, bringing the Liger Zero to
an emergency halt.
Almost by reflex he bounded the Liger off to the
left, away from the missiles the Sinker fired off into
the air that suddenly fell.
"He's using the missiles like mines," Jamie informed
him.
"So he's sick of this 'follow the leader' game, too,
right?" the pilot decided. "Well, this is the game I
want to play, too! Right, Liger?"
Just as predicted, the Sinker was making a hard
turnabout for a strafe run against the Liger Zero.
Its wing-mounted cannons fired off its deadly gatling
volley, blowing up a dust trail in the ground before
Bit and Liger, but each shot was getting closer each
fraction of a second. He began to power-up the Strike
Laser Claw.
"Now I've got you!" he heard Leena shout.
"What the...?!" Bit cried, and the Liger aborted
the attack to escape the volley of missiles coming his
direction. The explosion rocked him in the cockpit,
and his eyes barely caught the Sinker flying into, and
through, the inferno.
"What's the big idea?!" he shouted, directing his
ire at Leena.
"Missed?!" she yelled in disbelief. "Don't get in my
way, Bit!"
"He's mine!" Bit claimed.
"Not if I get him first!" Leena countered.
"I'll get him!" Brad decided.
Yet the protests were cut short when the heavy
shell landed. The impact of the shell blast the Liger
Zero off its feet and onto its side, knocking Bit
against the cockpit. An even greater fireball sprung
to life, and the radar fritzed for a few seconds. As
he got Liger back to its feet, the radar returned, but
this time with one less friendly.
"I'm down!" Brad yelled.
"My computer's still good," Leena reported. "It's
a little cooked over here."
By now the smoke had cleared somewhat, and Bit
realized that it was the Cannon Tortoise.
"Jamie!" he shouted. "Where's that Cannon Tortoise?"
"I got it," Jamie replied. "It's on the other end of
the battlefield, and it looks like it's getting ready
to fire off another shot."
"Thanks; I'll get the Tortoise." Directing his
attention back to Leena, he added, "The Sinker is yours
if you can catch it!"
"Stay out of my way," she replied. "The Sinker will
sink if I can help it!"
Firing up the Jager's boosters, checking for any
signs of the Sinker, Bit rushed off, hoping to get
the Cannon Tortoise before another shell did something
like fry Liger again.
"I'm with you, partner," he said. "I hate being
shot at like that!"
* * *
"This is kind of pathetic," Shizuka noted, sitting
in the cockpit of the black Backdraft Zoid, monitoring
the battle zone the Whale King was about to breach.
"Trust me, it'll become more interesting in a
moment," Martin assured her. "It is rather fortunate
the Liger Zero is relatively unharmed."
Yeah, and a total luck shot by Chika, at that.
"We'll see about that."
"Remember," the Backdraft officer informed her, "you
will not have the luxury of the ejection system
available to you. Secondly, if you try to attack us
we have armed an explosive device under the seat,
which I can detonate by remote here on the Whale King.
Fight well, and you may live. Do we have an
understanding?"
"Clearly," Shizuka said, nodding slowly. The thought
passed in her mind to open fire while still in the
hangar, but thought better of it; not only would she
take out herself and that jerk Martin, but anyone else
who was unlucky enough to be on the ship, and Shizuka
didn't want that on her conscience when going down.
Yet something about that bomb bugged her.
* * *
"Warning!" the Judge announced. "You are in
violation...."
The white Judge had no time to finish its sentence
when a large, boulder-like black sphere crushed the
capsule like a tin can.
"What?!" Jamie shouted, just as another capsule
landed near where the first judge capsule used to be.
Out from its crater the dark capsule raised, opening
to reveal the familiar Backdraft Dark Judge.
"It's the Backdraft Group!" Jamie informed Bit and
Leena, just as Brad entered the Hover Cargo's bridge.
"This battle has been taken over by the Backdraft
Group!" the Dark Judge declared, just as the black
Whale King descended to the ground.
* * *
"What the hell is this?!" Johan yelled, bringing his
Sinker to a halt.
The Whale King's mouth, the loading ramp of the
airship, opened its toothy maw. As the Dark Judge
droned on, declaring the presence of the Raijin Team,
two black Zoids emerged-- Rev Rapters, each armed with
cannons mounted on their fore claws. The two Rev
Rapters marched down the ramp silently, then moved to
each side to await their leader.
"Stay out of this battle if you know what's good for
you," came a transmission over the comm system.
"That voice," he noted, trying to remember who it
belonged to.
Those thoughts were interrupted by another, a man
Johan was unfamiliar with. "We are the Backdraft
Group. The Raijin Team hereby challenges the Blitz
Team's Liger Zero to a match, one-on-one."
"'One-on-one?'" he heard the Liger Zero's pilot
echo. "Isn't your guys' style 'no rules?'"
"If you refuse, I will destroy each person on this
battlefield until only you are left."
"What?!" Johan exclaimed. "Who the hell do you think
you guys are?"
Both Rev Rapters started firing in his direction, and
it was all Johan could do to minimize the damage by
quickly retreating.
* * *
"Now that's fighting low!" Bit complained. "Fine; I
accept your challenge!"
"Good," the Backdraft officer replied. "And here is
your opponent; you will receive five times the regular
prize money for victory. If you lose, the Liger Zero
is ours."
Both of the Raijin Rev Rapters stepped back into
formation, and Bit knew his opponent was emerging from
the Whale King. The panther-like Zoid, decked out in
black plated armor, strolled down the ramp, acting as
if it owned the world. It came with its standard twin
forward-facing 20mm cannons mounted under the head, but
from there it was obviously heavily-customized.
Mounted on a turret on top of its back was a double-
barreled CP-4, similar to the one Brad used on his
Command Wolf. Mounted to each side were twin beam
cannons, running a cable from the back of the cannons
to the Zoid's power plant. Each of those weapons, too,
were decked in black plated armor.
Bit only saw this type once before, but it was easy
to recognize the familiar Backdraft Group's custom
Stealth Helcat.
"Come on," he shouted, "don't you guys have anything
better than that?"
"The ones you fought before were amateurs," the
Raijin assured him. "This time I've acquired an expert
in stealth units. I believe you've met."
As if on cue, another view screen flickered to life.
As the Raijin commander promised, Bit did recognize
the pilot on the other end. Although it had only been
a few days since they first met in the desert Shizuka
looked incredibly bored and depressed, slouching back
in the pilot seat as if chained down. She removed the
knot from her pony tail, wrapping the chord around her
left hand, across all her fingers.
"You won't believe how many people want to see you
lose," she said bleakly, sounding a bit tired. "Time
to earn my pay."
"Why are you working with the Backdraft Group?!" Bit
demanded.
She shrugged. "Well, the plot sucks, but I'm willing
to do it anyway." She gave the universal hand sign for
'money.' "Shall we begin?"
"Looks like we have no choice, then," he decided.
"Alright, Liger, this should be a piece of cake!"
She doesn't look like she's going to try, Bit
thought. How hard can it be?
* * *
Up periscope, and Kanna was just in time for the Dark
Judge to declare the battle.
"That Helcat is built with a similar thought as the
Stealth Viper," she mused. "Obviously, whoever is in
charge of this Backdraft Group isn't stupid. The
question is, will Shizuka use it to her full advantage,
or hold back?"
Kanna scratched her chin thoughtfully. Although the
Zoid was different the principle was the same; the
stealth models were designed for hit-and-run when on
the offensive. If she guessed correctly, the Helcat
was also equipped with the same secret weapon as the
Stealth Viper.
She moved the periscope to focus on the Whale King,
which, after collecting the two Rev Rapters, was
lifting off. "My Warshark doesn't have the
capabilities to hit things that high in the atmosphere,
but... there is something that can!"
Lowering the periscope, Kanna sat back in her seat,
and scanned for the Cannon Tortoise's position.
* * *
The Helcat pivoted in place as it fired its twin
beam cannons, carving a dust trail right behind the
Liger Zero. Bit felt a rush, understanding that Liger
knew the beam was slowly catching-up. He kicked on the
Jager's thrusters, pulling out ahead of the beam and
continuing in his wide arc around the Helcat.
As Bit expected, the beam cannons could not sustain
such a long burst like that. He guided Liger Zero
toward the center of the circle of destruction, and
powered-up the Strike Laser Claw.
"Playtime's over; now we finish this!" he proclaimed.
"Strike Laser Claw!"
Liger Zero's front claws flared to life, and the
great lion leaped into the air for a mighty swipe. At
the last moment the Helcat jumped backward, allowing
the Liger to smash the ground where it used to be,
kicking up a great cloud of dirt into the air.
"Nuh-uh," he heard from Shizuka. "You'll get dirt
on my armor."
Bit pulled Liger away from the Helcat's line-of-
sight just in the nick of time, unwilling to fall for
the same kind of tricks Jack's Lightning Saix would
pull. As he made his escape the thought crossed his
mind that the Helcat might actually be tuned to be
faster, but discarded the thought, knowing that the
Helcat can't be tuned to go much faster than it's
going already; Liger Zero Jager at its top speed was
already over twice as fast as the fastest Helcat. The
only explanation was the pilot's reflexes were very
good.
On the other hand, if they were really that good,
Shizuka should've hit him by now. Bit snorted
confidently, comforted by the thought that his own
reflexes were faster than hers.
"We'll just have to hit faster, right, Liger?"
* * *
"What the hell are you doing?!" Martin demanded.
"Stop toying with the Liger Zero and defeat it!"
"Or you'll do what, blow me to smithereens?" Shizuka
countered, toggling the 20mm cannons. "Then you'll
definitely lose."
"Use the cloaking field, NOW!" the officer ordered.
"Hey, if I don't tell you how to run your Raijin
Team, then you don't tell your hired gun how to play
the game!" she thundered, taking two more shots at the
fleeing Liger Zero. "I don't need your retarded
cloaking field, OR your fake bomb!"
Shizuka killed the visual link, tired of seeing
Martin's head about to explode. She recalled many
times in the past of Kanna insisting to skip using the
cloaking field on the Stealth Viper and work with
everything else; back then it made absolutely no sense
to Shizuka. Today, however, she understood; it was not
simply to maintain an advantage. The cloaking field
was also a crutch, just as much as having too much
ammunition-- you tend to rely on it even when you don't
need it. She understood why the Backdraft Group never
beat this Liger Zero; they were too stupid to realize
this. The difference between her and their stealth
pilots was that Shizuka didn't need the cloaking field
to win her battles, and, as such, it remained her
advantage.
There was also another issue; if the Liger Zero
was equipped with heat sensors then it wouldn't be
difficult to spot the Helcat. While all Helcats were
designed with heat suppression this Helcat, unlike her
own Stealth Viper, did not have the extensive amount of
heat sinks that effectively masked her presence from
all but the top-of-the-line sensors. Shizuka would not
consider using the cloaking field until she was 100%
certain Bit Cloud wasn't going to see her; it meant the
difference between a successful attack and a dead
merc.
After that, the last major issue was that the
cloaking field merely obscures vision, but not the
Helcat's presence. Unlike the Stealth Viper, which
could 'meld' its shape into its surroundings, the
Helcat was still the same oversized panther it was
when visible. Raising a big dust cloud, for instance,
would help alert the opponent of her presence as the
cloud formed around the Helcat's huge frame. She was
certain Bit Cloud knew this; it was one of her
disadvantages to be fighting out in a loose-sand desert
like this, and she would have preferred a rocky canyon.
The Liger Zero turned for another pass for the Strike
Laser Claw, and Shizuka brought the CP-4 online,
buying time for the beam cannons to recharge fully. It
was her hope that her 'ameteur,' mistaken use of the
beam weapons would prove her edge later. The thought
of ensnaring the Liger Zero into her trap made her
giddy, and suddenly the blood drained from her arms,
replacing it with the same tingling sensation as
before. Shizuka twitched involuntarily at the sudden
change, and her heart beat like a drum.
It took all of her effort to slide her thumb over the
firing trigger, and she gritted her teeth. The
targetting computer registered the Liger Zero into her
firing range, and she squeezed the trigger. One after
another, chain-liked fire, the 20mm cannons and the
CP-4 fired, each hitting wide and very off the Liger.
She cursed herself, trying to regain control of
herself, but her shots continued to fly wide of the
opposing Zoid.
And then the Liger Zero's claws flared to life. In
reflex reaction Shizuka oriented the broad side of the
Helcat toward the attacker, then darted out of the
way as the blue and white beast leaped into the air.
* * *
"Missed again?" Jamie exclaimed, surprised as he
monitored the battle from the Hover Cargo. "The
Helcat can't move that fast!"
"It's actually not," Toros explained, just as Brad
and Leena entered the room. "The Helcat's pilot is
predicting Bit's movements and reacts accordingly."
"Somebody want to explain to me what's the deal
here?!" Bit demanded, his voice over the comm link
betraying a hint of panic.
"Bit, you've got to use the Jager's boosters to help
hit the Helcat before it has a chance to escape,"
Toros suggested. "The Helcat is watching your
movements."
"Yeah, I know," he replied, calming down a bit.
"But if I use the Jager boosters I might overshoot
her." A pause, then Bit continued, "You think we can
do it, Liger? Well, let's give it a shot!"
"There they go again," Brad said, and Bit and Liger
were maneuvering for another pass.
"The Helcat pilot was always given a few seconds
warning every time Bit charged the Strike Laser Claw,"
the leader of the Blitz Team mused, scratching his
chin. "Most people stand around like deer to
headlights on a mountain road, but this one's overcome
that innate fear enough to recognize the danger. So
the only way around that is to force a lapse in
judgment."
* * *
"Geez, you're trying to pull the same crap again?!"
Shizuka muttered, checking to make sure the beam
cannons were full. "Third time's a charm, I guess!"
She oriented the Helcat's forward direction toward
the Liger Zero, but her readings suddenly registered
something Shizuka didn't want to see. "That damn fool
is speeding up?! He'll miss and crash at this
velocity!"
To use the Strike Laser Claw at such high speeds
would require Bit to power them on early. Shizuka
switched the chain-linking of her cannons and set them
to single burst, which would discharge all sets of
cannons at the Liger Zero at once. She had no
intention of backing out of this chicken match-- not
this time.
* * *
Far from the battling feline Zoids Chika monitored
the two Zoids, unsure as to who to root for. Johan
quickly transmitted that the Helcat pilot was
Shizuka, recognizing her voice alone. The thought
confused her and Ayame, as neither of the two girls
imagined their former comrade would pilot anything
other than that snake she cherished like a baby.
Leading herself to the second surprise of the day, as
a new transmission kicked in. "Hello, Chika. Long
time no see."
This time Chika had no doubts about who it was.
"Kanna? What are you doing here? Where are you?"
"I'm not on the Whale King, if that's what you're
asking," Kanna replied. "I'm right under you. I need
a favor to ask you, because I don't have any weapons
on me."
"Still don't have enough money?" she jabbed. "You
guys drive me nuts; you won't sell any of the surplus
Zoids for money and would rather have them sit around
while you eat rice and noodles every day. What good is
having a nice place to live if you have to live there
in poverty again?"
It disgusted Chika that her former teammates, each
coming from families that couldn't afford Zoids and
now suddenly had access to some, chose to live at that
old military bungalow living the same way as they had
before. Mizuki and her followers refused to give up on
anything they found, but Johan got sick of this
attitude. He chose to live nicer even if that meant
camping out in the desert every day. The Stardust
Team was better-off financially for that reason; they
were willing to make sacrifices to live decently, while
the others were crazy enough to remain content as poor
packrats. The Dragoon Nest alone would've commanded
enough money to satisfy their food and weapons needs,
at the very least.
Kanna shook her head. "No, it's not that. I was
supposed to go into town to buy some parts, but I have
to look after Shizuka. She gets in trouble when she's
by herself, you know."
Chika nodded, knowing this to be true. "So you're
cutting me a deal... with a rival?"
"I'm not cutting deals; I'm asking a friend for
help. We aren't rivals."
"Kanna, this is probably going to be my last
battle anyway. What's the use of recruiting me back
onto your team like this when I'm so useless?"
The Spider remained silent. "We've always a place
for you. Ayame and Johan, too. But that's neither
here nor there. Help me, please."
"And what can this stupid bucket do?" Chika
demanded, frustrated with herself. "Cannon Tortoises
are slow and are just big moving cannons; I want
something more... like a Sea Panther."
"A Sea Panther? You're joking; that's practically
the same thing."
The Tortoise pilot shook her head. "Nuh-uh! They
look like hermit crabs, have a really big cannon, a
bunch of other cannon attachment options, and a really
good missile box! They're faster than the Tortoise to
boot!"
Kanna groaned. "Geez... you pirate. Fine, but we'd
have to do some trading...."
"I don't care about the Tortoise; if you get me a
Sea Panther I'll do anything you say."
"Anything?" Kanna echoed in disbelief.
She nodded confidently.
"Well... uh... okay."
* * *
"Let's do it, Liger!" Bit screamed. "Strike Laser
Claw!"
He felt the rush of the boosters propel the Liger
Zero's leap forward. The right claw tore through the
air quickly, and it seemed to Bit that he would hit his
mark; the Helcat wasn't budging.
Then the nasty surprise came for him; the reason the
Helcat stayed put was that it was going to retaliate
this time. All six cannon barrels mounted on the
black panther Zoid fired at once; both beam cannons
fired their stream shots past Liger Zero, but the other
four cannons found their mark. Yet it was not enough
to kill Liger Zero's forward momentum, as the Jager's
boosters continued to propel Bit and Liger forward.
Yet, the impact of the shots was enough to force Liger
to miss its mark, redirecting the attack on the front
left leg to shear the left beam cannon off instead
with Liger's full body.
Crashing into the dirt hard, Liger got up and quickly
shook off the dirt. Bit recovered from the momentary
shock, throwing a look over his shoulder to see the
state of the Helcat. Now minus one beam cannon the
Helcat was now off-balance, putting more weight on the
right side of the frame. While the attack wasn't a
complete success, it wasn't a complete failure, either;
Liger Zero escaped with minor damage.
"Nice shot," he heard Shizuka say, congratulating
Bit. "Too bad it wasn't what you intended."
"You're not so bad yourself, if a bit crazy," Bit
replied.
The girl laughed. "'Crazy?' That's the nicest thing
someone could call it, I suppose." The Helcat turned
to face the Liger Zero. "Now, then, where do we go
from here?"
Another voice interrupted, this one belonging to the
Backdraft Group officer. "What are you doing?!
Destroy the Liger Zero!"
"I think I've wasted enough time here, then,"
Shizuka decided. "Give me everything you've got, Bit
Cloud!" Shizuka cried, and the Helcat suddenly lurched
into motion.
"I hear ya, then," Bit agreed, a smile forming on his
face. Liger Zero rushed to meet the charge.
A great explosion rocked Bit around the cockpit. He
stopped in his tracks, as did the Helcat, and looked up
into the sky, to see that the Whale King's left wing
was smoking.
"Someone's attacking the Whale King?" he said,
surprised.
* * *
"What in the world is going on?!" Marin demanded, as
he was thrown from his command chair.
"We're under attack from an unknown surface
location!" one of the technicians reported. "It's not
coming from the Hover Cargo, or any visible unit
within the general area!"
"Is it the Zoid Battle Commission?" he wondered,
hearing that Altile was wrung into a similar trap
before. "Get us out of here before they shoot us
down!"
"What about the battle?"
"Forget the battle!" Martin yelled, seething. "We
cannot lose the Whale King over this!"
* * *
"There's two!" Chika announced, launching a second
missile into the air. This time the missile hit the
Whale King near its trailing engine, and the great
airship wavered in the sky. Dark smoke poured forth
from each new fissure.
She waited for the third hardpoint to load up, but
the Whale King was already trying to retreat. "That'll
teach you goons to ignore me!"
* * *
Bit's eyes followed the Backdraft Whale King retreat,
followed by the Dark Judge capsule that was withdrawing
from the battle. He sighed; it looked like they
weren't going to get the Backdraft prize money after
all.
"It looks like we'll have to settle this another
time, then," Shizuka said, sounding disappointed.
"Yeah," Bit agreed. "The Dark Judge is gone, and the
regular Judge is out of commission."
The other pilot snorted. "Well, then, until next
time." The Helcat began to leave.
"Wait, Shizuka!" he yelled, trying to get her
attention. "Why were you working with the Backdraft
Group?"
The Helcat stopped in its tracks, and the panther
Zoid's head turned back to look. "Like I said, there
seems to be a number of people who are interested in
defeating you. I've got to go collect my pay, so I'll
be seeing you later-- hopefully, extra rich."
Bit raised an eyebrow, having no idea what the girl
was talking about.
* * *
"She's gotten better," Ayame noted, sitting back
against her Redler's leg. Her eyes moved over to
Johan, who was sitting on top of his Sinker to get a
better view.
"I can't believe she got that thing to move faster
than the Liger Zero," Johan said. "How did she do
that?"
Ayame shrugged. "I don't know; why don't you ask
her?"
Johan sighed, then looked back down at her. "Well,
then, maybe I will. Coming?"
Champ Base, 1000 Hours
The noise of construction workers busying themselves
with repairing the hangar filled the air, as Harry
stared up at the black Helcat that suddenly showed-up.
Behind him, his two robot assistants slowly backed
away, clearing the creature's shadow, as it blotted out
the sun above.
"Harry Champ," Shizuka said sternly, "where's my
money?"
"Money?!" Harry cried. "You didn't beat Bit Cloud
already, did you?"
"'Beat?' Who said anything about defeating the guy;
you agreed to hire me to fight him."
"What? Are you joking?"
He heard the sound of a button press, followed by
a mildly-distorted voice: "And how much are you willing
to pay me to fight him?"
Next came the part Harry wished he didn't remember:
"You'll do it?! Name your price!" The color drained
from his face when he realized what he'd done; Harry
jumped the gun and forgot to be specific.
"Maybe if you fixed-up all our busted Zoids, and
bought me a particle cannon...." Click.
The Helcat's head lowered closer to the ground.
"You can keep the particle cannon; I'll feel bad if I
took that, but the rest stands," Shizuka added. "Well,
then, Mr. Champ?"
Fire Wheel Base, 1500 Hours
Kanna was definitely impressed with Shizuka as Rowan
finished going through their newly-acquired black
Helcat. Shizuka claimed that the Backdraft officer
said there was a bomb on it, then added there wasn't
a bomb. Kanna had to make sure of it before allowing
the Zoid into the hangar. When Rowan came back with
the confirmation, she was relieved.
She was also suprised that Shizuka saw through the
ploy, as often it was either true, or designed to
scare into cooperation-- sometimes both. But then,
Shizuka reasoned, they'd be shooting themselves in the
foot by destroying one of their own units like that.
Silently she watched as Ayame's Redler and Johan's
Sinker arrived. Chika already changed her registration
back to the Fire Wheels, waiting for the Sea Panther
she was promised, and now it was Kanna's task to make
sure to reabsorb the other two members of the Stardust
Team.
It wasn't the rewards from her boss, Mizuki, that
Kanna was after; she felt it necessary to look after
her own teammates.
She watched both Ayame and Johan disembark from their
respective Zoids, approaching her wordlessly.
"Welcome back," she greeted.
"There's rumors going around," Johan replied, a sly
grin on his face, "that you guys have earned a good
sum of money."
"It could only grow larger if we combine our
resources," Kanna added, fully prepared to play the
game of words. "The Stardust Team has done well for
itself since then."
"But not enough to beat the Blitz Team," Ayame
added. "When you guys stole Chika back to your team
we couldn't rematch them from the interrupted battle
this morning."
"Your Redler could use some weapons customs, don't
you think?"
"Yeah, maybe...."
"And Johan; your Sinker can be pushed further. The
Liger Zero's boosters could still overtake you.
Wouldn't it be prudent to buy something more
powerful?"
"Yeah," Johan admitted, "there's this one engine I've
been meaning to install, and.... Wait a minute. Are
you trying to sucker me?"
"We'll get you that engine," Kanna promised, "if we
combine the assets of our Fire Wheel Team with your
Stardust Team. It will be as it was before, only this
time we will be able to keep our weapons and our
lifestyles at the same time. We're going to fight
more aggressively now that we've got this opportunity
given to us. So, the question is, are you with us, or
not?"
The strategist was satisfied to see that Johan and
Ayame paused to consdieration. She was already
certain she hooked Johan, and now it was only Ayame who
could hold out. The reason she never customized the
Redler with cannons was out of pride, but this recent
battle with the Blitz Team proved how ineffective she
could be without a ranged projectile of her own.
"No strings attached?" Ayame asked finally.
Kanna shook her head. "Mizuki's got a surprise for
you guys; it's a new Zoid. Once she's satisfied she
can pilot it, we'll be unstoppable. Until then, we
need you to help bring us the income with which to
complete it."
At last, she knew she had Ayame hooked. "Well, if
you put it that way, count me in."
Backdraft Group HQ, 2100 Hours
Colonel Martin did not like standing in the presence
of the elite heads of the Backdraft Group. The dark
hall was devoid of all illumination save one-- the one
light beating down over his head. The shadowy heads of
the organization remained in the darkness, and Martin
hated that; he would rather know who to hate by seeing
them rather than go on ear alone.
His reasoning for being there was simple: "Why did
you allow the Helcat to be stolen?"
For that, Martin could give no explanation. He could
take any demotion and loss of prestige for the Raijin
Team; that girl, and the Liger Zero, however, would
have to pay.
-----------------------------------------------
Author's Rant
Another chapter from the Bad Guy Writer. Yes, the
Stealth Viper's secret weapon is a cloaking field, as
was alluded to in the first, and now in this, chapter.
It isn't used for that given reason; you could call it
personal handicap but it really isn't. Not only that
but I am also trying to portray its pilot as having a
nervous problem despite how good she is. I am not
happy with Anime simply stating that somebody is
'excited' about the battle, because there is more to it
than that; there's a certain exhilaration that goes
with it, the fear of losing, the thrill of battle, and
of course that certain numbness that seems to occur at
the wrong times, such that you have to force yourself
to keep moving. It's a strange feeling.
The Raijin Team is made up, and so is Colonel
Martin. It didn't feel right to have Altile or some
random flunky do these things.
-- Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
http://www.angelfire.com/art/rcxshizuka/index.html
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