A/N: HELLOOOOO ANYONE WHO ACTUALLY STILL WATCHES OR REMEMBERS ZOIDS! I am known as GunSniper64, Zoids is my favorite anime, and I have another account on ff under a different username, anyone who figures it out will get a cookie! I DO NOT OWN ZOIDS, THE CHARACTERS, OR ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE ANIME! Ok so this story is a romance/action/mystery one and it focuses around the pairings of Moonbay/Irvine, Van/Fiona, one-sided Dr. Dee/Madame President, and slight O'Connell/Rob Herman. This story is rated T for language, slight actiony sequences, and slight making out. BEFORE YOU EVEN ASK: I have NO IDEA when in the series this story is supposed to take place, but definitely during Guardian Force and before Hiltz is destroyed. Anyone who doesn't like fluff or zoids, you are wasting your time reading this! With that please enjoy "The Attack on Red River Base", and please please please remember to review at the end!

Chapter One

Captain O'Connell was tired of being the lackey. Why did he always have to run errands or get Major Herman coffee? Why was he the one always being picked on for sentry duty or keeping watch over the latest model zoids? It wasn't fair. He knew he could do better than what he was assigned to do. He was a captain now for Zi's sake! Even the officers under him got higher pay! Although he would never voice his complaints out loud. He had much admiration for Major Herman and should his commanding officer catch wind of his complaints, O'Connell was afraid he might lose the major's respect. So, there he stood, lazily perched on the balcony of one of the upper areas that overlooked the hanger where the new zoids were kept, protected from the outside world.

Suddenly, O'Connell got a call on his radio, and Major Herman's voice echoed through the hanger.

"O'Connell, I need your assistance with something, would you please come to my office immediately?" Herman's voice sounded slightly scratchy over the phone.

'Probably needs a fresh cup of coffee,' O'Connell thought to himself as he sighed and took off towards his commanding officer's office.

After knocking on the door, and receiving a croaky, "Come in", O'Connell hesitantly opened up the door and walked into the office closing the door behind him. Once inside however, he was tempted to run back into the hallway screaming for help.

Major Rob Herman's eyes had dark shadows under them, the coffee pot was completely empty, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes looked dull and exhausted. He sat at his desk with his head resting on his folded hands.

"O'Connell," his voice croaked out before he cleared his throat and tried again. "O'Connell, I need coffee."

"S-sir! W-what happened to you? You look like hell!" O'Connell stuttered as he quickly rushed up to his commander.

As he helped Herman sit back against his chair, O'Connell heard the major's back crack.

"Sir, I think you need medical attention," O'Connell began before Herman waved a hand at him.

"No time for that, captain. The recruitment has begun and I've been up all night checking over the files of the enlisted, making sure that there are no criminal reports or anything out of the normal. I need to hand in the list of the new officers to Colonel Krueger before noontime so he can give it the OK."

"But sir, you need to rest! You will pass out if you don't," O'Connell said quickly as he removed the empty coffee pot as Herman went to grab it. "I'm sorry sir, but if you drink anymore coffee your colon might explode."

"O'Connell, give me my coffee before I demote you," Herman said as his eyes never left the empty coffee pot and his voice hardened.

"I'm sorry sir, but I have to disobey that command in order to ensure your health," O'Connell stated as he locked the coffee pot and mug in a cabinet to which only he had the key.

Herman sighed as his head fell back against the chair. "I swear O'Connell; you are the most stubborn captain I have ever had to deal with."

O'Connell smiled. "Thank you, sir. But you still are not getting more coffee."

Herman laughed but then his eyes closed as his sides burst with pain. O'Connell was at his side in an instant.

"Major, you should retire to your quarters and rest and relax. I will contact Colonel Krueger and inform him of the situation. Sir, should an attack befall this base, you will not be fit enough to lead your men into battle. You don't want to let us down, do you sir?" O'Connell's eyes locked with Herman's.

As Herman grew silent, O'Connell put a hand on his shoulder. "If you will excuse the formalities for a moment, sir, as a friend I am asking you to please put these reports aside and take the day off or to at least get a few hours of rest."

Herman's face took on one of absolute seriousness as he asked, "If the base were to be attacked right now, captain, and you were the commanding officer of this base, would you want your men to see you sleeping on the job? No, you would want to be as strong as possible, even if your entire body feels as if it is ready to break. I will not rest until these reports are finished."

They stared at each other for a long time before O'Connell sighed and smiled.

"And you call me stubborn."

Herman smirked at that and O'Connell saluted and made as if to exit the room before stopping at the door. Turning his head slightly towards his superior officer, he smirked, "Oh, and sir?"

"Yes O'Connell?"

"Don't try to pick the lock of the cabinet with a paperclip. You will scratch the lock and I only have one key."

And with that, O'Connell exited the room as he left a speechless major behind.

Moonbay sighed as she leaned against the cockpit of her Gustav. It was a slow day. She hadn't been given any orders from either the Empire or the Republic to deliver anything, so basically it was a free day for her. She hated free days when there was nobody to spend them with. Van and Fiona were off on some romantic getaway and Irvine…Irvine. Moonbay sighed. She hadn't seen the ex-mercenary in ages! Though she admitted to say it, she was starting to miss his charm and badass attitude. He was always good for a laugh or drink and he was an excellent fighter. However, he had vanished from Red River Base without a good-bye.

"Typical," Moonbay complained as she opened up the lid of the cockpit and jumped out. "He's never around when I need him."

Just then Captain O'Connell rounded the corner and Moonbay smiled.

"Hey, O'Connell! You look a little upset," she observed as O'Connell slumped against the Gustav.

"It's Major Herman. He hasn't gotten much sleep in days and I had to lock up the coffee pot in a cabinet so he doesn't overdose from the caffeine."

Moonbay smirked. "Wouldn't that much coffee make him hyper?"

"You would think that, but you would be mistaken. He has the bloodstream of a tortoise. It takes a while before the caffeine kicks in," O'Connell said with a sigh.

Moonbay clapped him on the shoulder. "What he needs is a woman's touch to get him away from work."

O'Connell raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Have you tried giving him a massage or something to relax his muscles?"

O'Connell glared at her. "Listen woman, I do not perform the lowly tasks of a girl! Though I wish that he would get better soon, it would not be appropriate for me to perform such an action!" His face softened a little with consideration. "Although I do want him to relax..."

Moonbay put on a huge grin. "Then it's settled! Get in there and show your commanding officer some R&R. Now get going captain before he doubles the work pile!"

As she gave him a shove, she watched his turquoise head of hair disappear around the corner before giggling to herself.

"With this set of female brains, it's a wonder why I am not a captain too."

"Maybe because you are no good at following orders unless there is money involved," a voice said smoothly.

Moonbay spun around and looked up to see Irvine sitting lazily on the top of her Gustav. She couldn't help the joy that filler her voice

"Irvine! How long have you been up there?"

His eyes were closed but she saw the smirk.

"Long enough to hear your conversation with O'Connell. He sure is devoted to Herman, isn't he?"

"Of course he is! He is Major Herman's friend and is there for Herman when the guy needs it. And right now Herman could use all the help he can get. Which is more than I can say about some people," she added with a glare towards the man sitting atop her zoid.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Irvine asked as he tilted on his side, his biceps flexing with his movements.

'Look at those biceps. They could poke somebody's eye out,' Moonbay thought to herself as she looked into his eyes.

"At least O'Connell is there for Herman. Where have you been? It gets lonely here you know without any jobs to do or Fiona, Van, and Zeke to joke around with."

Irvine shrugged. "I've had places to go. Not my problem that you are grounded here."

"Grounded? Who said I was grounded? I can leave whenever I want to!" Moonbay shouted stubbornly.

"Then why are you still here?" Irvine asked her with a grin.

Moonbay looked away from him as she fumed silently.

Irvine's smirk grew as he slid down from the top of the Gustav to stand before Moonbay. He gave her a look-over. Her hair and clothes were normal but…was that lip gloss and eye liner she had on?

"Since when do you wear make-up?" Irvine asked her.

"Since when do you care?" she retorted, raising her eyebrow.

The faintest blush came to Irvine's face and he responded coolly, "It's not that I care, I was just making an observation."

"Why are you here, Irvine?" Moonbay asked him tiredly and changing the subject.

He looked into her eyes and said simply, "The same reason you are. Something is going to happen at this base pretty soon and if it means I can get a score then I'm staying right here and so are you."

"Is that the only reason you're here?" Moonbay asked before she could keep her mouth shut.

Blushing as Irvine looked at her inquisitively, Moonbay's mind sent off alarm sirens but she didn't break his gaze, instead trying to play it cool.

Irvine waved his head slightly and shook away a stray piece of brown hair that had been in his eyes.

"I'm still here because I have a prize to win."

"Is it always about money with you?" Moonbay asked, subconsciously taking a step closer to him, her voice softening to a whisper.

Irvine could feel his breath catch in his throat. Normally Moonbay was a lot more shielding of her personal emotions but now he could tell she had let her guard down around him. Now he had two choices – take advantage of it, or avoid the situation. He decided to do both.

"And what about you? The only time I find you anywhere of importance are when there are transportations to be completed, or cash to be collected. Face it, Moonbay, you're just like me."

Moonbay's heart skipped a little beat as she realized they were less than a foot of distance away from one another.

"You're wrong," she whispered to him.

Suddenly Irvine gave her a wink, turned away from her, and began walking away calling over his shoulder, "It's not always about money, 'Bay."

Van sighed happily as he lay back against the hammock gently swaying in the breeze.

"Now this is what I call a vacation," he grinned as he lay next to Fiona on the hammock. "A gentle breeze, great company, and no wars or battles to be fought. It was certainly nice of Major Herman to grant us this vacation time before we are called back out to fight any enemies."

Fiona nodded with a smile as she gazed up at the clear blue sky from next to Van. Zeke was happily chasing a butterfly nearby. A few moments of silence stretched before Fiona asked, "Van?"

"Yes Fiona?" Van asked turning to face her.

Her blonde hair hung loosely around her shoulders. She wore a light blue headband, shorts, and a white and pink striped tank-top, a change from her normal attire.

"I was just wondering…do you think everyone will be ok back at the base? What if it gets attacked and we aren't there to help," Fiona said worriedly.

"You worry too much," Van said lightly as he leaned over to face her. Smiling, he looked into her eyes. She really did have the most beautiful eyes ever as Thomas never failed to tell him. "I'm sure they can handle whatever decides to attack. And if anything should happen then they can easily send a message to the Liger, and he will call us. Herman won't let the base fall no matter who decides to attack."

Currently Herman was plotting how to hang himself with a long string of extra chewy gum when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Calling out for the person to enter, O'Connell stepped in and Herman could've thrown praises at the Captain.

"O'Connell! Please tell me you have come back to relieve my suffering and hand me a delicious pot of your delectable coffee," Herman begged as his eyes sent cries for help to the lieutenant.

O'Connell shut the door behind him and walked past the desk soundlessly to stand behind the major.

"Captain?" Herman asked cautiously.

"Close your eyes, keep your head back, and relax, sir," O'Connell said his voice tight with resentment towards a certain Gustav pilot for forcing him to do this. "I'm going to relieve your suffering hopefully by giving you a massage."

There was silence before Herman burst out laughing.

"O'Connell, as much as I appreciate your…tactics towards the current situation, I assure you that you do not have to do this," Herman laughed as he wiped away a tear.

"Sir, with all due respect, please be quiet," O'Connell said gently but forcefully as he moved his hands to the man's shoulders.

"Captain, as much as I appreciate your wanting to help me, I don't think a simple massage will –"

Herman was cut off as O'Connell's hands slowly rubbed his shoulders, relieving the tension. Herman let out a sigh he didn't know he had been holding back and O'Connell smiled.

"Feel better?"

Herman nodded and for the first time in a while, he let himself relax while the captain massaged Herman's shoulders, then biceps, then upper back, and finally, with his sweet smile, stepped back, and tilted his head.

"Did I help, sir?"

Herman looked at his subordinate with a somewhat dazed look. "Where did you learn to massage like that, soldier?"

O'Connell felt his face redden a little under the praise as he responded, "Army training. They taught us how to help relieve pain in times of distress, and learning how to give massages was part of our training."

Herman tried not to laugh at the image of a younger O'Connell's face when he realized he would have to learn how to give massages to survive.

"Sir? Can I ask you something?" O'Connell wondered hesitantly.

"Anything, Captain," Herman replied.

"Will you please put an end to the reports for today and at least take a nap or something?"

Herman sighed and shook his head before standing up and stretching.

"Captain, you have healed me of all physical pain, and because you have healed me I should repay the favor. I will put an end to your worrying for now, for I know you will never be worry-free. If you will leave me and alert all the men to not bother me, I shall take a nap."

O'Connell's smile grew huge as his head nodded hastily.

"O-of course sir! I will personally see to it that nobody bothers you! Enjoy your rest, sir!" O'Connell saluted and was out of the office in an instant. Herman sat down with a smile as he looked out his office window at the base below him.

'He's a good man, that O'Connell.'