East Flatland Waste, 1400 Hours, Day 1
"Who would'a thought that I'd get so lucky as to find a whole Viper!" Bit Cloud exclaimed, leaping out of his jeep in excitement.
Lying on its stomach, under a thin layer of dirt blown onto its metallic surface, the black Viper Zoid lay prone, and appeared to be in reasonable shape. Certainly, there were holes in its armor, and one of its side-mounted grenade launchers was missing, but it was still left there, after the battle held only an hour earlier. Whichever team owned the Viper was likely on the losing team.
It all seemed too good to be true, Bit thought. Well, if they're going to leave something like this out here in the middle of nowhere....
Bit made his way to the cockpit, raising his left arm to his face to block the dust blowing his direction as the wind picked-up. Viper Zoids were very common Zoids, and in fact they were really nothing special. There was only a few teams that Bit knew of that used Vipers seriously, and none of them impressed him. Yet salvaging this discarded Viper was not for the Zoid itself, but for the parts.
Although a thin layer of dust formed over the cockpit window of the black Viper, Bit could make out the silhouette of a person-- the pilot, likely-- within. Immediately thoughts of dismantling the Zoid transformed into disappointment, then into worry that the pilot might need help.
He pounded his gloved fist against the window. "Hey!" Bit cried, over the wind. "You need any help?"
Bit got no immediate response from the pilot. He wiped a section of dust off the window, then cupped his hands around his eyes, and peered inside.
The pilot was a young woman, appearing to be in her late teens, her eyes shut, as if sleeping... or meditating. She wore a heavy black coat, buttoned only at the collar, and wore it almost like a cape, as its length seemed to stretch to her boots and her arms were folded under its folds rather than inserted into the sleeves. Her dark hair was tied up in a red chord, curiously in a shoelace knot.
Bit watched as one of the girl's arms appeared from under the coat and reached over to the console. He jumped at the sound of her voice, demanding, "What do you want?"
It was obvious from her voice that this warrior was young, but also no-nonsense. Bit summoned his composure. "Hey, are you okay? What're you doing out in the middle of nowhere, anyway?"
"Who're you?" she asked sternly. "If you're a junker then I was here first. Salvage Law."
Bit cursed mentally, wondering if the pilot really was a warrior. According to the Salvage Law the first person who found the salvageable goods had claim to them-- which also meant whoever this was is holding the goods in the battle area. "Just wanted to see if you were okay."
"I'm fine, thank you," the pilot replied, although Bit thought she could use a little more work in sounding sincere. "You sure you want to wait outside like that?"
"Nah, that's okay," Bit answered, sitting up and away from the cockpit window. "You're waiting for something?"
"My friends, actually. If you hadn't noticed, this Zoid isn't exactly equipped to lug any of the garbage around here home."
"Yeah, I've noticed. By the way, who are you?"
"Shizuka, of the Fire Wheel Team."
So she is a warrior. "'Fire Wheel Team?' Name sounds familiar... but I can't place it."
The pilot within laughed, genuinely amused. "You wouldn't be the first. That's because barely anyone accepts our challenges. Who are you?"
"My name's Bit Cloud!" he proclaimed proudly. "I'm with the Blitz Team. Maybe you've heard of them."
"Heard of them? Who hasn't?" Shizuka, for her part, did not sound as if she were awed by his presence, which disappointed Bit. "You're the guy that joined when they got that big winning streak that the Lightning Team took away. That was a nice match."
For some people, he thought. His eyes passed down the length of the Viper. "Your Zoid looks kind of beat up. Was it that close of a battle?"
"You could say that," she granted. "Now that the battle's over we need to pick up the pieces. We can't afford to leave our equipment lying around like some other teams can. We're stripping for cash."
"Yeah; sometimes you can find some nice things out here," Bit agreed. "I find some equipment to stick on my Liger all the time!"
"Feh. Some people think, that they have Zoids like that, that they're better than people like me that don't use powerful Zoids. Vipers aren't exactly competitive in this Battle Commission, you know."
"I know what you mean," he replied with a nod, "it must take a lot of work to keep this thing in competition."
He heard a tone through the intercom, followed by a slight pause. "My friends are coming. You'd better get outta here; they don't like junkers, and they don't like guys from other teams scouting their Zoids."
"Well, then," Bit said, standing, planting his arms by his hips. "I guess I'll be seeing you around sometime, then, Shizuka?"
"Heh. Later... Bit Cloud."
No sooner had Bit jumped off the nose of the Viper the Zoid powered to life, rising from the sand. He hurried back to where he left the jeep, narrowly avoiding the sand shower of the Viper shaking-off the dirt from its armor. The snake Zoid's head turned in his direction for a moment, as if the pilot wanted to say something, but then turned away, heading out to meet her comrades.
Bit waited a few minutes as a monstrous juggernaut appeared in the distance. As it drew closer he could make out its features. It was an armored creature modeled after a lobster, its upper armor halves painted red and the lower portions metallic gray. It walked on eight insect-like legs, surprisingly able to carry the transport's weight. It came to a full stop, its right claw opening to reveal a ramp and hangar. Emerging from the hangar was the smaller, violet- painted lobster cousin of the transport-- a Macurtis-- probably modified for salvage operations, as the Macurtis was designed for both surface and underwater combat.
"Wow, a Dragoon Nest!" Bit exclaimed. "You don't see one of those every day!"
A portion of the lobster shell on the transport's back opened up, revealing a hangar in the rear. A large blue flying Zoid, a Salamander, launched. The winged lizard Zoid vaguely resembled a legendary dragon, and was the larger cousin of the Pterras which Bit was already familiar with.
Although the display of such expensive Zoids all together was marvelous, Shizuka's words were probably true-- they wouldn't like people like Bit around while they were conducting business, and that was probably why the Salamander was deployed-- to act as an aerial scout. Even though it didn't look like it was sporting any weaponry whatsoever the Salamander was still large enough to squash the jeep.
Of course, Bit reminded himself, Salamanders had too frail of a frame to handle close-quarter combat.
Turning on the ignition, Bit's mind wandered. "The Fire Wheel Team, huh?"
Blitz Team Base, 1900 Hours, Day 1
Bit's memory of the odd team name suddenly jogged and caught up to him.
"Tomorrow we're facing the Fire Wheel Team," Jamie, the tactical advisor, stated, standing next to the projection screen displaying an overview of the team's specs as made public by the Zoid Battle Commission.
"'Fire Wheel Team?'" Leena echoed, sitting at the chair across from Bit. "Aren't they the biggest losers in Class A?"
"That's what I heard," Brad confirmed, sitting back in his chair with his arms folded, appearing not to care, as usual. "They're also one of the biggest teams around, with eight possible warriors."
"Except that some of them left the group, and the team itself is having financial difficulties," Jamie corrected. The screen changed to display three Zoids-- a Guysack, a Storm Sworder, and a Stealth Viper. "Only three of their registered Zoids are used anymore because they can't afford the upkeep for the rest of them. Most of the Class A teams refuse to challenge them or accept their challenges because of their reputation, so the Zoid Battle Commission has to arrange all their battles for them."
"Reputation... what reputation?" Bit wondered.
"They're supposed to be unpredictable because of the amount of Zoids they have at their disposal," Brad answered. "It's also because each of them have very capable pilots, so people are afraid to challenge them over that."
"But it's still hurting them even when they're not like that, huh?" Leena finished. "Glad I'm not on their team."
"The current rankings of their current pilots from the last Zoid Trials are lower than our scores," Jamie continued. "In fact their Stealth Viper pilot scored in the low sixties."
"On the other hand it's only a Stealth Viper," Bit added, remembering what its pilot said earlier that day.
"What, are you worried about a dumb Stealth Viper?" Leena teased.
"It seems to me," Dr. Toros said, interrupting, "that those Zoids they're using are military-issue. Meaning they're probably surplus hardware from back during the war before the Zoid Battle Commission was set up."
"That makes them OLD!" exclaimed Bit. "If they're winning using fossils then no wonder they're Class A."
"Not to mention Storm Sworders are one of the hardest air Zoids to find, since they're so good," added Brad. "It sort of makes up for their other two below-average Zoids."
"Right, so we can't take them lightly," Jamie agreed, "and we're not handling the Stealth Viper like we did with the Viper Team."
"If you say so," Leena said, unconvinced.
Continuing, "Guysack is armed with a tail-mounted 20mm cannon and two pincer claws-- that's it. They've only switched out the tail for the gunnery pod on three occasions, but I don't think they're going to do it this time. The tail cannon can fire in every direction, but the claws are forward-only; the key to beating this one will be getting in close and behind it or to the sides."
"The Storm Sworder can fight both on the ground and in the air, but it's in their favor to going into the air. It's only got one forward cannon under its neck, and relies primarily on blades attached to each wing."
"I'm sure you can out fly it easily," Brad said.
"Last of all, the Stealth Viper. It's got two 40mm cannons, two grenade launchers, twin dual pod launchers, and two image-recognition surface-to-air missiles. It has good heat suppression and radar deflection armor. Since it is military-issue, it is also equipped with an ECM unit, making missiles less effective against it. So when you go up against it you want to use something other than missiles."
"Guess you're out of this one, Leena," Brad added, jabbing at his fellow warrior.
"What?!" she exclaimed. "You're not going to go out and get easy points while I'm sitting around here!"
"It'd be pointless to waste good ammo on something that can't be hit by it," he continued.
"Guys, guys!" Bit said, getting between the two warriors. "Geez, you don't have to get so worked-up about it Leena."
"If it's not such a big deal, Bit, why don't YOU sit out on this one?" she yelled angrily.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Toros interrupted. "Bit hasn't sat out of a battle since he joined, and we don't want to make it look like he's the only reason we're winning...."
"Uh... thanks, Doc..." Bit said, uneasy. "But don't you need me and Liger out there?"
"I'm sure we can handle it," Brad replied. "Even if they are Class A they're still the lowest of Class A, so these guys shouldn't be a problem."
"And we do need the Raynos to help with the Storm Sworder," Jamie added. "They only have three Zoids, so we have to be handicapped according to the rules."
Bit sighed, then shrugged. "Well, I guess you guys can handle it...."
"Just don't let Leena go against the Stealth Viper," Brad persisted.
Fire Wheel Base, 2200 Hours, Day 1
The leader of the Fire Wheels, Mizuki, a woman in her mid-twenties, sat back in her chair, giving her full view of all three monitors set up at her station. Her youthful face betrayed the experience she had behind the Guysack, the Zoid of her choice. She ran her hands back through her waist-length volume of dark hair, throwing it over the back of the chair to ease some of the strain of sitting back, facing her similarly-aged lieutenants.
The left monitor held the master tactician and Zoid pilot woman, "Spider"-- her battlefield name. Although she was only two years younger than Mizuki Spider was unusually brilliant, but rather cold and calculating. Her eyes seemed to pierce into Mizuki's soul like icy daggers, and although her peers wanted her to lighten- up she refused to change her ways. Her role on the battlefield these days was as the sometimes secondary gunner for the Guysack, since her Warshark's ammunition couldn't be paid for anymore.
The center screen beheld "Warlock," the chief technician and chief Salamander pilot; the secondary pilot left when the team split, so he had to modify the large Zoid to fly without assistance. Unlike many other pilots who wore eye lenses Warlock required them in order to see, as they helped correct his poor vision. His breaths exhaled, revealing cold wisps of air, reflecting his current position deep within the base, a forgotten military installation. The Salamander was similarly impaired as the Warshark, but Warlock's task now was to decrypt the doors to the lower levels of the installation-- and that took him to the cold recesses below, without heating.
Finally, on the third monitor was "Ziel," the ace pilot of the team's Storm Sworder. Just like the vicious iron raptor he piloted Ziel was very efficient in aerial combat, utilizing the Storm Sworder's unpopular blade option now that ammunition was scarce for the team. The lights in his chamber were kept purposefully dim, and only a dark silhouette could be made out on the monitor, as Ziel seemed to like to keep to himself most of the time.
Behind Mizuki stood Shizuka, her apprentice. Even before three members left the team to form their own team Shizuka was always the youngest of the pilots, narrowly shy of twenty years. Where three Zoids were denied ammunition the Guysack and Stealth Viper got first dibs, and whatever was left over went to the Storm Sworder's cannon, as both of the former Zoids were effectively crippled without ammo. Mizuki lead her apprentice by example by not wasting that ammo needlessly, forcing herself and Shizuka to become better shots. She was proud of her apprentice's 57% accuracy rating in the simulators; it was a good margin of miss and more than half the bullets hit something.
Shizuka's field name was "Silencer," but Mizuki herself had no such name. It was always something generic like "Boss."
"Let's hear it," the boss said, expecting her trained warriors to deliver their reports.
"I've finished up the battle plans," Spider began, careful to hide her obvious pride in her brilliance. "And I've analyzed the public data given on the Blitz Team. The one we have to look out for is their Liger Zero; it has a transforming parts capability, and we will be unable to predict with certainty which armor they're going to use."
"I would count on them using the Schneider," Mizuki suggested. "Make a contingency for each of their armors."
Spider nodded. "Right. Anyway, they've got a Raynos now, which isn't reflected in the records yet, as they've only recently acquired it. You can be almost certain they're going to use it against our Storm Sworder."
"I can handle that thing easily," Ziel chirped in. "Raynos aren't equipped for mid-air melee like my Storm Sworder is, so he's going to have to rely on his two cannons. If he hits, first of all...."
"You flyboys are full of it," Warlock interrupted, although he himself flew a flying Zoid.
"They've also a Gunsniper with a Wild Weasel Unit attacked, so it's nothing like the other Gunsnipers we've encountered," continued the master tactician. "History shows that the pilot is prone to waste ammo, but she also hits a lot, too."
"If I had that much ammo to throw away, there wouldn't be a Zoid left," Shizuka grumbled.
"That also makes you rely too much on your ammo," Mizuki added sternly. "And that's unacceptable. The Stealth Viper's ECM unit should be able to deflect most of the missiles from that Wild Weasel Unit."
"Of course, boss, but they're the Blitz Team, and I hardly think they're going to be THAT dumb," Spider pointed out. "They're too good for that."
"Don't make the mistake of overestimating your opponent," the leader countered. "If they're really that good they wouldn't have lost to the Lightning Team. The fact that they lost means they are beatable, too."
"Of course, we lost to the Lightning Team, too," Warlock added under his breath, although Mizuki didn't say anything to that. It was certainly true that the Fire Wheel Team themselves weren't as good as some of the other teams, but it helped to keep the team's feet on the ground.
"You can't go into the simulations assuming that your opponent is always going to make the best choice at the right situation," Mizuki continued. "That's why I make you do several simulations for each possible scenario; if there is a possibility the opponent will make a mistake, we need to know how to maximize our ability to take advantage of it."
"Yes, boss," Spider said with a sigh. "Lastly, they have a Command Wolf; my probability suggests that the Blitz Team will rotate this one out for the match, so I haven't done any serious simulations with it."
"Go back and do the simulations," the boss ordered. "For all you know they'll switch out the Gunsniper instead and then we'll have a problem." She turned to face Warlock. "And you?"
"I'm still working on it," he reported. "Every time I get past one security block there's always another one behind it. I'll finish up the next block tomorrow evening, but who knows how many more blocks there are."
"If there's something usable, or sellable, we'll need it."
"Yeah, I know, I know...."
"Ziel?"
"All the Zoids are prepped," the flyboy said. "I went through and replaced all the parts damaged in the battle this afternoon, and restocked the ammo to your Guysack and the Stealth Viper, but I've few rounds for my Zoid."
"Tough luck," Shizuka replied. "My snaky is totally worthless without ammo."
"If it wasn't for the stupid scheduling we wouldn't have to do two fights in a row," Ziel complained. "And by that I mean the Battle Commission shouldn't screw us like this."
"We're screwed as is, remember? Blitz Team, one of the most promising teams in the league. Fire Wheel Team, least-promising team in Class A. Ammo shortages, bad armor, and uncompetitive Zoids." She sighed, then chuckled to herself. "Don't you just love these uphill battles? We are soooo going to lose."
"I don't plan on losing," Mizuki replied, amused by her apprentice.
"Oh, and Shizu?" Spider voiced. "Do not, I repeat, do NOT, use the switch. My calculations are doing the simulations without that, and if you do use it that could screw up our future battles."
"Dammit, why not?!" she complained. "You've kept telling me that ever since I got that sucker, and I could've used it to win all of the battles we lost!"
"It's a huge advantage to keep secret your ultimate edge," Mizuki explained. "If you use it, and rely on it completely, others will come to expect it, and counter you. Then it won't be such a good edge anymore, will it?"
"But you keep insisting I practice WITH it in the simulator!"
"You'll know when to use it when you get there; not a moment before, and not for the Blitz Team. They aren't worth it."
"Besides," Spider added, "we've won those other battles without it. We don't even NEED it."
Battleground, 0800 Hours, Day 2
The Judge Capsule landed on time, creating a massive crater all around it. The capsule raised out of its hole, and swung open, revealing the white Judge within. Its head 'surveyed' the land as it habitually did, declaring, "The land within a thirty-mile radius is a designated Zoid battle zone."
To the Judge's left, the Blitz Team Hover Cargo pulled to a stop at the edge of the battle area, deploying its three Zoids from its top-mounted catapult: a blue Command Wolf, a heavily-armed Gunsniper, and an aerial teal Raynos.
At that moment the Fire Wheel Team's Dragoon Nest pulled inside the zone. Its rear hangar catapult released a dark silver, bird-like Storm Sworder, and it banked hard to its right to orient its direction back into the battlefield. The lobster-type transport opened its center ramp, located under the head-bridge, allowing a black-painted Guysack off, snapping its scissor-like claws together in anticipation. Finally, the Dragoon Nest's left claw opened up, allowing a black Stealth Viper free.
Satisfied, the Judge continued, "All unauthorized contestants and personnel must leave the battlefield immediately." It once again made a quick scanning sweep of the field. Most of the terrain was barren rocky waste, with few rocky cliffs here and there, but none large enough or significant to use as high ground, rather as cover.
"Area scanned; battlefield set-up. The Blitz Team versus the Fire Wheel Team. Battle mode '0983.'" The Judge raised its arms into the air. "Ready... FIGHT!"
* * *
"I'm going on ahead," Wild Eagle announced. The flyboy alter-ego of Jamie added boldly, "I'll see if I can clip that Storm Sworder's wings quick."
"Roger that, Wild Eagle," Brad acknowledged in reply, leading with his Command Wolf, Leena's Gunsniper following behind and to the right. "If it's still close enough to the Guysack and Stealth Viper try to draw it away."
Over the system they heard Bit's voice from the Hover Cargo. "Good luck, guys!"
"There won't be anything left of them," Leena boasted, "when I'm through. This'll be a piece of cake!"
* * *
"Raynos is moving out ahead of the pack," Spider said, appearing suddenly on the screen in the Guysack's cockpit. "The other two are running on behind it."
"So, they're coming to meet us, huh?" Mizuki determined, amused. Although the Storm Sworder and Stealth Viper were very fast, the Guysack was not, and the boss wanted to be certain she had cover so as not to get caught by something a lot faster than her.
That was essentially every other Zoid in the battle, of course. "Uphill battles are more interesting," she mused.
"I'll get the Raynos," Ziel stated, breaking out of formation.
"Negative on that," the boss commanded. "Stay with us."
"Why not?" he complained, wavering back into formation.
"Because you're too damn eager to plug the Raynos, that's why," Silencer answered. "If we can plug it on the first pass then the battle'll be easier, and that'll be a lot harder if I can't shoot it."
"That's a big 'if.' We all know he's better than that, and you're going to miss with only TWO STA missiles."
"Maybe. Or maybe not."
"Cut the chatter," Mizuki ordered. She sighed, leaning back slightly against her pilot chair. The Liger Zero, unexpectedly, was not present for the battle, which disappointed the Fire Wheel boss. However, that gave their team the best scenario for victory, provided they could get rid of the Raynos. The Stealth Viper and Guysack could retaliate against aerial threats, but not exceedingly well; if the Storm Sworder failed to bring it down both the Viper and the Guysack are sitting ducks to strafe runs.
* * *
"Wild Eagle here, I've visual contact. I'll pull the Storm Sworder out, and the rest is yours!"
He considered doing a quick strafe on the Guysack and Stealth Viper, but the Storm Sworder was already moving ahead to intercept. The Wild Eagle cracked a smile, eager to duel against a fellow aviator.
The communications screen flickered to life, and an unfamiliar man stared back at him, although most of his features were obscured by a sun-visor flight helmet. "Let's make this quick, kid," the pilot of the Storm Sworder challenged.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Wild Eagle answered in reply, killing the visual. He felt the cannon beneath the cockpit rumble to life as he readied it to fire, intending to take out his aerial rival in the first pass.
Thumbing the firing trigger, a stream of deadly bullets flew out toward the Storm Sworder, but the Raynos was forced to bank right to dodge a hail of fire from the Storm Sworder's own cannon. Wild Eagle turned his head around and saw that the Storm Sworder banked left, and was wheeling around to get behind the Raynos.
A warning alarm flared, tracking a missile lock. Undaunted, he kicked the throttle to full, breaking out of the surface targeting easily. Wild Eagle didn't need to think to know it was the Stealth Viper trying to take a potshot at him, as the Storm Sworder wasn't equipped with any missiles-- only the forward cannon, its retractable head sword lance, and its wing blades.
Which meant, once the Storm Sworder was out of ammo, it would be forced to make mid-air slash passing, and that was only a problem if it somehow managed to keep up with the Raynos.
He yanked the stick left, then right, avoiding another deadly hail from the silver Zoid. He had no idea how much ammunition the Fire Wheels loaded it up with, but the way it was firing the Storm Sworder was going to run out of ammo fast, and for nothing.
"Wow," he shouted, knowing the enemy pilot was listening, "I'm not impressed!"
"I've flown head-on in a lightning storm; don't you screw around with me, you little punk!" the pilot cried, obviously angry. "Dammit!"
The sudden cause for alarm on the part of the Storm Sworder's pilot was evident, as the bullet streams ceased. Wild Eagle snorted in amusement; the Storm Sworder had even less ammunition than he thought. "Now I'll be happy to oblige your request and start playing seriously!"
He cut the speed of the Raynos, then hard-turned to line up his own shot. The Storm Sworder's head lance was already extending, as if getting ready for its mid-air joust. Satisfied that the enemy was committing to the joust Wild Eagle thumbed the trigger, unleashing his own stream of bullets.
However, at the last moment the Storm Sworder broke from its intended flight path, veering off to the right and over the bullet stream, pulling a braking maneuver. The Raynos was moving too fast to slow itself down as the Wild Eagle knew what the other pilot was intending to do. Letting out a roar he kicked on the afterburners, pushing the Raynos further ahead and past the Storm Sworder, narrowly missing its clipping dive with its right wing.
He spared a quick glance over his shoulder, killing the afterburners after knowing the Storm Sworder was getting ready to make another pass. "That's more like it!"
* * *
"I've contact with the Guysack!" Brad announced as his Command Wolf bounded across the wasteland.
Although visual contact had not been reached the radar blip for the Guysack was within strike range. The mercenary had long since switched-off the blips for the Raynos and Storm Sworder, as it made him sick watching them move around on the radar screen the way they do. Brad looked over his shoulder, visually confirming that Leena had kept up with him.
"The Guysack's hiding behind the rocks over there," Leena said, indicating a point slightly to the left of Brad. "I can't track the Stealth Viper."
"It's definitely got good heat suppression," Brad added, quickly toggling the heat tracker on the console. "It looks like they're hiding out and waiting for us, as expected."
He brought the Command Wolf around to circle the rock the Guysack was hiding behind from the left, while Leena's Gunsniper took off for the right, intending a pincer attack. It would appear to others that they were trying to flank and corner the Guysack, but both pilots knew it was only an attempt to draw out the hiding Stealth Viper. The longer the Viper stayed in its hiding hole the harder it would be to take it down later; it was better to flush it out now by pressuring its teammate.
The moment the Command Wolf exposed itself to the Guysack's 270 degree arc of fire its tail cannon opened fire, but Brad pushed hard on the acceleration, moving faster than the turret could rotate, but several bullets bit into the Wolf's rear right leg armor. At the same time the Gunsniper entered the range of fire, but a loud scream and gunfire signaled to Brad that they found the Stealth Viper.
Moving in a wide arc Brad now saw what the enemy was doing. The Guysack, with its back to the rock, had a natural gun position toward him, as the tail could swing faster toward its natural forward position rather than 180 degrees around. Coiled on top of the Guysack's back was the Stealth Viper, firing its two head-mounted 40mm cannons on the Gunsniper, and it was hitting, as the Stealth Viper's head could move with greater mobility than the Guysack's tail gun.
"You guys are history!" Leena cried.
"Wait, Leena!" Brad yelled, braking his Command Wolf to turn and line a shot against the Guysack.
But it was already too late, as Leena was already flipping switches. "I'll take them both out at once! Weasel Unit Total Assault!"
As he expected the Guysack and Stealth Viper were not moving from their position, seemingly unconcerned that a hail of missiles originating from the Gunsniper was about to rain destruction. Brad tried to ignore the noise and squeezed off a few shots from the Wolf's top- mounted cannon, then broke off to avoid more bullet rounds.
He felt the blast of explosion behind him, followed by Leena's protests of disbelief.
"N-no way!"
* * *
Bit stood up from his chair, having watched all of the Weasel Unit's missiles fly over, around, and past the Stealth Viper and Guysack combination, either blowing up its hiding rock or the dirt behind it.
"Wow!" he exclaimed. "That's the first time I've seen that happen!"
"That's actually quite clever," Toros admitted, scratching his chin. "Not only did they hide the Stealth Viper's radar, heat, and physical presence by standing on top of each other, they're using the Viper's electronic countermeasures to distort targeting the Guysack as well."
"They're WHAT?!" they heard Leena scream. "You guys didn't say anything about that!"
Her complaints were cut short as the Stealth Viper continued fire on the Gunsniper. The radar screen showed that the Stealth Viper and Guysack were now splitting-up, now that their rocky cover was gone, with the Viper going after the Gunsniper and the Guysack the Command Wolf, as predicted.
Although the Command Wolf could handle the Guysack, the Gunsniper would be in trouble once the Stealth Viper got within melee range, as the Gunsniper's cannons could not hit targets that close.
"Leena, you'd better fall back," Bit suggested.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled back angrily. "I'll get this guy before it gets to me!"
Sighing, Bit closed the transmission to the Gunsniper for a moment, turning back toward Toros. "Hey, Doc...? What do you think's going to happen?"
Toros folded his arms. "What'll you think will happen, Bit?"
He looked up toward the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well, I guess the Stealth Viper's going to get that close to the Gunsniper, and the Guysack is buying time with the Command Wolf until the Stealth Viper is done. Then after that they could assist the Storm Sworder in taking down the Raynos."
"Pretty good," Toros complimented. "That's what I was thinking, too."
"So Brad needs to take out the Guysack and help Leena, and then they can handle the Storm Sworder," Bit added.
"Mm-hmm. The only problem is we don't know how good the Guysack pilot is with that Zoid. It's all up to those two now."
* * *
"Did you hear that, Brad?" Toros said. "You must take out the Guysack as soon as possible and help Leena."
"Yeah, I gotcha, Doc," the mercenary pilot replied. "Easier said than done."
The Command Wolf took two bounds to the left, then turned and fired shots at the Guysack, but the scorpion-type Zoid was unexpectedly nimble for an insectoid monstrosity. Its lower center of gravity afforded it better control on surfaces, making the Guysack suitable for combat on all terrains; its only flaws are a distinct lack of armor and effective weaponry. If Brad wanted to hit the Guysack he would have to get into melee range, but that would also mean he had to put up with the Guysack's pincers. However, since the pincers were forward-only, all he had to do was find a way to get on one of its other three sides.
Since the scorpion was so maneuverable tackling it from the left or right would only end in facing the pincers, so the best way to get around it was to attack from the rear. However, the tail cannon could easily nail him from there, but there was not much choice in it. As much as Brad liked to get out of such a simple battle without a lot of holes in his Wolf's armor, he needed to finish this now, before it got worse.
* * *
"Come on, now!" Silencer cried, weaving her Stealth Viper around the bullet shots as it slithered closer to the Gunsniper. "You can aim better than that!"
It was not dodging bullets at all; there wasn't any Zoid built that she knew of that could do it. The Gunsniper pilot, in her panic, was making predictable moves, and it wasn't difficult to judge where her sprays were going just by carefully watching how the top platform of the Gunsniper was moving. Silencer scoffed; the Wild Weasel Unit was overrated.
For her part the Viper pilot was taking her time, savoring the moment as she weaved the snake Zoid back and forth in the dirt, inching closer, but not close enough for one good strike. The trick was to not put the Gunsniper pilot in a state of panic such that she would break and run; the Gunsniper, although top-heavy, could still outrun the Stealth Viper. The Silencer only needed for her to forget about that.
"'Tis I, the snake charmer," she said to herself, having not squeezed off a single shot of her own during the Stealth Viper's dance. "Paralyzed with fear, I shall strike, and savor my prey!"
The moment the Gunsniper's cannons spun dry, the Stealth Viper reared its head back and lashed out, quickly coiling around the weapon platform's legs.
"What ego comes up, must stay down!" Silencer cried, squeezing the Gunsniper's legs together.
* * *
"Computer frozen?!" Leena cried in disbelief, a high-pitched whine the only response the Gunsniper computer would give her. "You've got to be kidding me!"
She slammed a fist against the console, in frustration. The Stealth Viper that bested her lifted its head into view, and stared down at her, as if contemplating whether or not to finish off its prey.
* * *
Mizuki risked a glance in the Stealth Viper's direction, glad to see that the Gunsniper toppled over on its own weight. Quickly she tore herself back to the fight at hand, quickly remembering that the Command Wolf was the bigger threat.
Said opponent fired several more shots in her direction, which were easily avoided, then the Wolf ran off in the opposite direction.
"What the hell?!"
"Boss, the Command Wolf is retreating," she heard Spider say, receiving audio-only.
"I can see that; I want to know why."
"I don't know, but don't go after it."
"I know," Mizuki acknowledged, her thoughts following the same train as her tactician. "I need to see what he's up to first."
Another communication came in, this time from Silencer. "Gunsniper locked-up. I'm on my way."
"No, keep your distance," the boss ordered. "The Command Wolf is up to something, and if it gets both of us, then we lose."
"Roger that," her apprentice replied.
This time Ziel checked-in. "Hey, if you're not that busy, how about creating a diversion for me? This Raynos guy is pissing me off."
"Oh really?" Silencer said, feigning sweetness. "I've two kids here that could help you out. Just say 'please.'"
"Look, fire the damn missiles or I'll strafe YOU!" the flyboy yelled angrily.
"Shizu, go help him," Mizuki ordered. "This is no time to argue."
By this time the Command Wolf had turned around, and was heading for Mizuki's Guysack at full speed.
"A running start?! He's got to be joking!"
Mizuki frantically put the Guysack in reverse, falling back and quickly scanning the grid for any rocky outcroppings, but the closest one was the victim of the Wild Weasel Unit. Cursing her timing, the boss of the Fire Wheels cut the reverse, powered-up the electrical charges in the pincers, and charged forward at full speed.
"This'll be the last thing you expect, Wolfie!" she cried, grinding her teeth together.
* * *
As Mizuki predicted, Brad wasn't expecting the Guysack to charge, which meant the pilot knew what he was trying to do. Quickly he redid the calculations, coming up with a new solution now that the Guysack was in forward motion. The jump would have to come sooner than expected, but there still should be enough speed.
That is, provided the Guysack didn't make a sudden stop or turn on the way, but Brad was confident he got the Guysack pilot worked-up enough to make her forget about that.
He watched the radar grid closely, and the solution appeared, just in front of his position. Bracing himself, Brad switched on the boost drives that forced the Command Wolf to jump.
As he hoped, the Guysack hadn't changed its course, and the Command Wolf landed square on top of the scorpion's back, smashing through its armor with its weight and momentum. The cockpit rocked Brad around a bit, but the satisfactory crunch that came from crushing an aluminum can underfoot was there to greet him when it stopped.
Brad looked out to the sides, satisfied that the eight legs supporting the Guysack had given way under the weight of a Zoid heavier in density than a Stealth Viper. He barely heard the Judge disqualify the Guysack from the battle, and turned his attentions toward Leena's Gunsniper.
Too late, however, as the Gunsniper was already down on the ground, and Leena was complaining loads over the channels. The Stealth Viper had disappeared again, but this time there was only one blip left on the radar.
"Guess you don't have good enough stealth after all," Brad noted, commanding the Wolf to give chase.
* * *
"Mizuki! Mizuki! Are you alright?"
Popping open the cockpit, coughing from the smoke that suddenly billowed within, the boss of the Fire Wheels watched the Command Wolf bound off. The Guysack was completely flat against the ground, and all eight of its legs had snapped-off. Not to mention the telltale paw prints on the Guysack's back.
"Damn," she cursed, ignoring Spider's communications. "That's going to cost a lot of paint jobs."
* * *
For the most part, Ziel was sick of flying around in circles, dodging bullets. As he circled for another pass he considered the Raynos. Its pilot was very good, no doubt, squeezing shots only to keep Ziel away from a mid-air wing slash. It was all he could do to ignore the itch in his trigger finger, to fire off the ammo he reserved, and hopefully, by now, convinced the Raynos pilot he didn't have any. Spider was correct; they were counting on him to run out of ammo.
The only trouble was he couldn't find a good time to shoot. If he fired at the wrong time he would miss his chance for a flyby hit, and then his advantage would be gone. If he waited too late the Storm Sworder may be nose-diving. But now that the Stealth Viper was free, it had two good STA missiles to annoy the Raynos with. If he played his cards right that could lead to a decisive victory.
The moment the Stealth Viper launched the STA missiles the Raynos would try its best to shake them off, and Ziel guessed it wouldn't be difficult for the pilot to do so. That would hopefully open a window of opportunity for the Storm Sworder to make its strike, and he would likely have to unload some of the reserve ammo to set up the wing clipping.
"Here goes nothing!" he heard Silencer cry.
As if on cue the Raynos reacted, and Ziel's radar indicated that the two STA missiles have indeed launched. Even though that gave away the Viper's position it wouldn't matter if he could take out the Raynos; whatever was left on the ground would be his. The teal Zoid tilted right and kicked its afterburners; Ziel maneuvered the Storm Sworder to his right to catch the Raynos on the turnaround.
He mapped-out the scenario in his mind. The Raynos would try at all costs to ditch the missiles. Even though the Stealth Viper's STA missiles didn't pack enough punch to destroy the Zoid it was still enough to clip its wings. Since there were no good rocky outcroppings within the immediate area the only true solution would be to dive, then pull up at the last moment, causing the missiles to impact against the ground. All Ziel had to do was be there when he dove.
Keeping one eye on the radar the Raynos purposefully weaved to and fro and around in arcs; the Storm Sworder moved along the outer arc to meet the opposing Zoid. Both missiles kept up with the Raynos, and were gaining fast.
Ziel pulled his eyes away from the radar; the Raynos wasn't diving as expected. Instead, the pilot was aiming directly toward him at high speed.
"Clever," he muttered, unwilling to participate in an exchange of targets. Reaching onto the console the pilot killed the engines, angling the stick downward.
As gravity caught him and threatened to yank him back to terra firma the Raynos and both missiles zoomed past him overhead, and Ziel congratulated himself. Even though the missiles were identity-lock they could still detonate prematurely if they impacted against something else-- say, a Storm Sworder-- while pursuing the target. Keeping the engine on would only have served to cut the margin closer as the Raynos and Storm Sworder's distance would've been closer to one another, and there would have been a greater chance of eating the missiles. Only an ameteur would make that mistake.
Quickly bringing the engines back online Ziel kicked on the afterburners and quickly regained control of his descent. Taking a quick glance out each side of the cockpit window he finally realized that the Raynos was making its diving maneuver to ditch the missiles; its pilot probably understood what was going to happen. Ziel yanked the stick downward to pursue.
The landscape quickly became larger in the windshield and the sky disappeared completely as Ziel brought the Storm Sworder in a near-straight nosedive. The Raynos descended at a less steep angle, but began to pull-up. Ziel ignored the missiles, easing his angle of descent to line-up his cannon with the Raynos. The moment the targeting computer pinged, he thumbed the trigger.
"I hate easy targets," Ziel said, grinning to himself.
Fire rained down upon the Raynos, putting holes through its wings and producing satisfying plumes of smoke.
* * *
The Wild Eagle felt each bullet tear through the armor of the Raynos, and he frantically tried to level out the Zoid's body for a safer emergency landing. He had to give the Storm Sworder pilot credit for fooling him; he never expected him to have any more ammo left, not after this long of fighting without using it. Of course, such a stunt was going to cost the Storm Sworder, too.
Land caught up to the Raynos quickly, and Wild Eagle braced himself. The only consolation for being shot down was, judging from the Storm Sworder's frantic attempt to get the shot in, it wasn't going to have time to pull-up before hitting the ground.
* * *
Silencer watched as the Storm Sworder narrowly missed a flat body landing. The Zoid's neck tore a hole in the ground, then flipped the craft over from momentum. Then it flipped over several more times, on its wings, and then sliding off somewhere on its back.
"This isn't going to be pretty," she muttered to herself, quickly moving the Viper from one rocky outcropping to another.
The Command Wolf was still in reasonably good shape, and the Stealth Viper was attempting to find good ground from which to strike. After firing its missiles Silencer was forced into a quick skirmish before losing the Wolf, and now she was forced to hide while she tried to think of a way to beat her opponent.
She wiped her palms against her coat, forcing herself to relax and breath. Her heart pounded with exhilaration, being up against someone that was obviously better than she was, and who beat even Mizuki.
"Perhaps this Blitz Team does deserve its reputation," she mused. "So it's just me and him, huh?"
"Don't use it," Spider insisted. "You have to beat him without the secret weapon."
"You don't have to remind me," Silencer replied, punching more keys on the console. A chest compartment along the Stealth Viper's body opened, and a mechanical arm holding a mortar appeared. She guided the arm downward, shoving the mortar into the ground, orienting it upward. "It won't be as satisfying, will it?"
"That's the kind of stuff I want to hear!" Mizuki encouraged. "This is what you've been trained for; even though Command Wolves outclass your Zoid in every way you can still beat him!"
"Cut that 'you can do it' bull," she hissed, annoyed at her sudden virtual pep squad's appearance. "If you pressure me I'm going to crack."
The pilot reached under the console, and adjusted the heat suppressor further, praying silently that she really was gone from the Wolf's sight. The boss was right; the Command Wolf outclassed her Zoid, and the only true advantage was to live up to the Stealth Viper's name. All she had to do was wait for the right moment to strike.
Or rather, make that opportunity.
"Okay, Shizu," she told herself, "he's nothing special. Just another punk kid with an overpowered quadruped... you can take care of him...."
Silencer imagined that the others were amused by this, and the tingling sensation in her arms wouldn't go away.
"I don't understand. Why can't I calm down? What is it about this battle that excites me?"
* * *
"I don't see her, Doc," Brad said, his eyes scanning the area in his forward arc. "This Stealth Viper may as well be using stealth technology, too."
"But it's not," Toros replied over the link. "You must keep your eyes open. Don't rely on the radar to help you."
"Easy for you to say."
Slowly, Brad edged the Command Wolf around each rocky outcropping, knowing that the Stealth Viper was hiding behind one of them. The problem was, each time he rounded a corner the Wolf was vulnerable to attack, as the top-mounted back cannon could not turret; its range of fire was only directly ahead. So for a few precious seconds the Command Wolf would be open to attack and the Stealth Viper was free to take shots or run off to another hole in another direction; the snake Zoid had the advantage of being far more maneuverable than a quadruped Zoid.
"Not as easy as you thought it would be?"
Brad froze in his tracks, not recognizing the voice.
"Come on," beckoned the woman's voice, and Brad realized it must be the Stealth Viper pilot. "Show me your true power!"
"Triangulate that," he ordered, relaying the message to the Hover Cargo.
"Don't bother. By the time you figure out where I am, it'll be too late."
The Command Wolf's head swung side-to-side. "This is getting kinda old," he taunted, hoping to bait the pilot into making a mistake. "I thought you Fire Wheel guys were better than this."
"Heh, heh. You guys are amusing, taking out one Zoid of ours for each one we take down. Too bad the trend is going to continue, and you'll be out of Zoids to take ME out with!"
So she's a talker, too. He edged the Command Wolf away from the rocks. "I was kinda hoping that you'd give me a better challenge. Too much talking, and not enough shooting."
"BANG!"
Brad jumped in his seat, alarmed at the sudden yell in the audio link. He switched on the visual for a moment, noting that the female pilot was making faces at him, then killed it. It was then followed by terrible, cackling laughter.
"Brad," Dr. Toros said, over the sound of the mad cackling, "we've got a fix on the Stealth Viper's location. It's...."
All at once three explosions rocked Brad in the cockpit, realizing that three of the nearby rocks were now smoking. A second later launched grenades impacted against his blue armor, rocking the Wolf further. Bits of shrapnel rained downwind.
Suddenly a red blip flared to life on the radar, but it was already on top of the Command Wolf. The Zoid protested against a physical hit, of steel grinding against steel. Looking over his shoulder, upward, the Stealth Viper had sheared-off the cannon, and was now staring down at him menacingly.
No, the Viper wasn't simply standing on him, it was wrapped around the Command Wolf's body.
"Game over," the enemy pilot shouted, obviously pleased with herself.
Gritting his teeth, Brad yanked hard right on the controls, forcefully turning the Command Wolf onto its side, bringing the Stealth Viper down with him. Machine gune fire kicked up dirt where the cockpit used to be, but Brad was thrown hard against the cockpit, with the window pressed against the ground. He looked straight up out the top of the window, and spied the Stealth Viper's head lying on its side in the dirt. He certainly hoped the system froze from the impact.
But sadly, the Viper's head reoriented itself back to face him. "That was a funny little stunt, but it's over now."
* * *
"Battle over!" declared the judge. "Battle over! The winner is... the Fire Wheel Team!"
Toros sat back in his chair, sighing. "Well, so much for that one."
"Ah, that's no sweat, Doc," Bit assured him. "We're still better than they are. We'll just have to challenge them again, and I'll win it for you!"
One screen flickered to life, and Leena appeared quite annoyed. "WHAT did you just say?"
Another came up, this time with Jamie. "Uh, guys, how about picking me up?"
"Come on, Bit," Brad complained, opening his own transmission. "It's not like you're the reason we win, you know."
"How do you know I'm not?" Bit replied boastfully. "Me and Liger could've beaten that Stealth Viper... no problem!"
In unison, each of the pilots yelled, "BIT!!"
* * *
Shizuka the Silencer sat back against her seat, sighing in relief, but the tingling sensation would not go away. In the span of a few seconds, she finally understood what it was that was egging her. Reaching to the console, she opened a channel to each of the Blitz Team members.
"Congratulations," she told them.
"It should be you that is congratulated," a middle- aged man, probably the Blitz Team technician, said. "Using remote grenade launchers like that as a distraction...."
"It was a cheesy trick," Shizuka interrupted. "In an even match I would have lost; but then, battles are hardly even, aren't they? Mr. Wolf pilot, I salute your abilities; maybe next time it'll be even closer."
She smiled, amused by the bewildered expression on the Command Wolf pilot's face. "Uh... sure."
She gave a quick, informal solute. "From here I'll train harder. I hope you guys will do, too, for the next time we fight."
* * *
Mizuki ran her fingers down the side of the smashed black Guysack, just as the Dragoon Nest arrived and deployed the Macurtis. The smaller lobster's claws were adjusted for scooping, and was strong enough to tow the wrecked Zoid. In the other direction the Stealth Viper was approaching.
How many years was it, father? Yes, it was over ten years ago I first laid eyes on this black scorpion. It was similarly as long ago I trained myself to pilot it against your wishes. I remember the first singles match; you were so angry, and I was so proud, slicing that guy like a tuna can. I think, those times as I earned money for our family, that I started helping the others in town, building our team slowly from the ground up. Every scratch and dent on your armor, Guysack, was our badge of honor, and we never gave in despite how easily we became outclassed. I'm proud of all those years....
A live communication came in from Spider, from within the cockpit of the Macurtis. "Damn, that thing's a wreak."
"This guy's beyond salvage now," the boss said. "It was a good last battle, wasn't it?"
"Cheer up, boss," Spider encouraged. "We can use the prize money to buy another...."
Mizuki shook her head. "We'll strip this Guysack for parts. Anything else we can't use we'll sell for cash. I can't pilot another Zoid like I could him."
The Macurtis pilot remained silent.
"Our first priority is to fix the Stealth Viper and Storm Sworder, then we'll re-outfit the Warshark to take my place. From there we'll just have to rebuild our finances, slow but steady." Mizuki cast her eyes to the approaching Stealth Viper. "I think we've enough capable warriors to carry this team on... to victory."
* * *
Fire Wheel Base, 1600 Hours, Day 2
"Got it," Warlock muttered, finishing keying the decryption code to the security door.
He looked out the window of the control room to the hangar, and to the number of decrypted passkey doors required to open the chamber at the far end. Warlock counted six-- now seven-- open. The last six times his efforts were rewarded with another sealed door; whatever it was that was back there was certainly something the old military didn't want people to touch easily.
The sliding double doors parted, protesting against the cold condensation the entire hangar was suffering from ever since the facility was abandoned. It was sheer luck Mizuki found this place, and it was this place that prompted her to start the Fire Wheel Team in the first place. Each of the Fire Wheels came from a class of people who simply could not afford to buy and maintain Zoids; to people such as them, having the ability to enter Zoid battles was a dream come true.
Warlock stood up in his seat, catching the reflected glint of white and blue armor. Boxy armor at that. He scrambled for the controls, heart pounding in realization that this was it. Flipping all the light switches of the underground hangar on, more of the new Zoid's features could be made out.
It stood low to the ground, and was as large as a Liger. Its white and blue armor was made of very simple geometric shapes, but looked incredibly sturdy despite its bulky appearance. A cockpit window 'visor' armor rest in a raised position, providing what would be complete armor when in the lowered position, like a tank. From the front it was armed with two clamp-like claws, rather than Guysack's scissor pincers. It stood on eight legs, like the Guysack, but the legs were more armored and reinforced in all the structurally- weak places. On its back was a mounted, turreted dual- barreled shock cannon. Up and along its back formed a scorpion-like tail, with one large gatling cannon as its stinger, and two smaller cannons to each side of it as backup.
Sliding back to the control console Warlock brought up the technical specifications of the mysterious Zoid. Reaching to the comm, he said, "Mizuki... everybody, to Hangar 7, immediately. You should come see this."
It was rare to see a Deathpion these days, as they are expensive as heck, but this was no ordinary Deathpion, according to the specs. It was the second, unfinished, Death Stinger, one of the military's top- secret ultimate weapons in the war.
* * *
No words could describe what Mizuki was thinking, staring at the Death Stinger head-on in the cold hangar. Every aspect of the beast was just like the Guysack, and then some.
"Is this a sign?" she wondered. "How could I...?"
"Boss," she heard her apprentice say, her voice echoing in the empty chamber. "Please don't think of this as a replacement. Think of it as... well... your gift. A gift from all of us, for what you've done for this team."
"It will never replace my Guysack."
"Nor should it," Shizuka agreed. "Nothing will replace your old partner." She waved her arm, gesturing the Death Stinger. "The past is done; now all there's to do is lead us to our great future. Only you can do that, because you are our leader."
Mizuki snorted, lowering her head. "It figures, I guess. You guys would fall apart without me."
Turning away from the Death Stinger, she ordered, "Get the simulator ready! Add this guy into the database; we're in it for the long haul."
"Who would'a thought that I'd get so lucky as to find a whole Viper!" Bit Cloud exclaimed, leaping out of his jeep in excitement.
Lying on its stomach, under a thin layer of dirt blown onto its metallic surface, the black Viper Zoid lay prone, and appeared to be in reasonable shape. Certainly, there were holes in its armor, and one of its side-mounted grenade launchers was missing, but it was still left there, after the battle held only an hour earlier. Whichever team owned the Viper was likely on the losing team.
It all seemed too good to be true, Bit thought. Well, if they're going to leave something like this out here in the middle of nowhere....
Bit made his way to the cockpit, raising his left arm to his face to block the dust blowing his direction as the wind picked-up. Viper Zoids were very common Zoids, and in fact they were really nothing special. There was only a few teams that Bit knew of that used Vipers seriously, and none of them impressed him. Yet salvaging this discarded Viper was not for the Zoid itself, but for the parts.
Although a thin layer of dust formed over the cockpit window of the black Viper, Bit could make out the silhouette of a person-- the pilot, likely-- within. Immediately thoughts of dismantling the Zoid transformed into disappointment, then into worry that the pilot might need help.
He pounded his gloved fist against the window. "Hey!" Bit cried, over the wind. "You need any help?"
Bit got no immediate response from the pilot. He wiped a section of dust off the window, then cupped his hands around his eyes, and peered inside.
The pilot was a young woman, appearing to be in her late teens, her eyes shut, as if sleeping... or meditating. She wore a heavy black coat, buttoned only at the collar, and wore it almost like a cape, as its length seemed to stretch to her boots and her arms were folded under its folds rather than inserted into the sleeves. Her dark hair was tied up in a red chord, curiously in a shoelace knot.
Bit watched as one of the girl's arms appeared from under the coat and reached over to the console. He jumped at the sound of her voice, demanding, "What do you want?"
It was obvious from her voice that this warrior was young, but also no-nonsense. Bit summoned his composure. "Hey, are you okay? What're you doing out in the middle of nowhere, anyway?"
"Who're you?" she asked sternly. "If you're a junker then I was here first. Salvage Law."
Bit cursed mentally, wondering if the pilot really was a warrior. According to the Salvage Law the first person who found the salvageable goods had claim to them-- which also meant whoever this was is holding the goods in the battle area. "Just wanted to see if you were okay."
"I'm fine, thank you," the pilot replied, although Bit thought she could use a little more work in sounding sincere. "You sure you want to wait outside like that?"
"Nah, that's okay," Bit answered, sitting up and away from the cockpit window. "You're waiting for something?"
"My friends, actually. If you hadn't noticed, this Zoid isn't exactly equipped to lug any of the garbage around here home."
"Yeah, I've noticed. By the way, who are you?"
"Shizuka, of the Fire Wheel Team."
So she is a warrior. "'Fire Wheel Team?' Name sounds familiar... but I can't place it."
The pilot within laughed, genuinely amused. "You wouldn't be the first. That's because barely anyone accepts our challenges. Who are you?"
"My name's Bit Cloud!" he proclaimed proudly. "I'm with the Blitz Team. Maybe you've heard of them."
"Heard of them? Who hasn't?" Shizuka, for her part, did not sound as if she were awed by his presence, which disappointed Bit. "You're the guy that joined when they got that big winning streak that the Lightning Team took away. That was a nice match."
For some people, he thought. His eyes passed down the length of the Viper. "Your Zoid looks kind of beat up. Was it that close of a battle?"
"You could say that," she granted. "Now that the battle's over we need to pick up the pieces. We can't afford to leave our equipment lying around like some other teams can. We're stripping for cash."
"Yeah; sometimes you can find some nice things out here," Bit agreed. "I find some equipment to stick on my Liger all the time!"
"Feh. Some people think, that they have Zoids like that, that they're better than people like me that don't use powerful Zoids. Vipers aren't exactly competitive in this Battle Commission, you know."
"I know what you mean," he replied with a nod, "it must take a lot of work to keep this thing in competition."
He heard a tone through the intercom, followed by a slight pause. "My friends are coming. You'd better get outta here; they don't like junkers, and they don't like guys from other teams scouting their Zoids."
"Well, then," Bit said, standing, planting his arms by his hips. "I guess I'll be seeing you around sometime, then, Shizuka?"
"Heh. Later... Bit Cloud."
No sooner had Bit jumped off the nose of the Viper the Zoid powered to life, rising from the sand. He hurried back to where he left the jeep, narrowly avoiding the sand shower of the Viper shaking-off the dirt from its armor. The snake Zoid's head turned in his direction for a moment, as if the pilot wanted to say something, but then turned away, heading out to meet her comrades.
Bit waited a few minutes as a monstrous juggernaut appeared in the distance. As it drew closer he could make out its features. It was an armored creature modeled after a lobster, its upper armor halves painted red and the lower portions metallic gray. It walked on eight insect-like legs, surprisingly able to carry the transport's weight. It came to a full stop, its right claw opening to reveal a ramp and hangar. Emerging from the hangar was the smaller, violet- painted lobster cousin of the transport-- a Macurtis-- probably modified for salvage operations, as the Macurtis was designed for both surface and underwater combat.
"Wow, a Dragoon Nest!" Bit exclaimed. "You don't see one of those every day!"
A portion of the lobster shell on the transport's back opened up, revealing a hangar in the rear. A large blue flying Zoid, a Salamander, launched. The winged lizard Zoid vaguely resembled a legendary dragon, and was the larger cousin of the Pterras which Bit was already familiar with.
Although the display of such expensive Zoids all together was marvelous, Shizuka's words were probably true-- they wouldn't like people like Bit around while they were conducting business, and that was probably why the Salamander was deployed-- to act as an aerial scout. Even though it didn't look like it was sporting any weaponry whatsoever the Salamander was still large enough to squash the jeep.
Of course, Bit reminded himself, Salamanders had too frail of a frame to handle close-quarter combat.
Turning on the ignition, Bit's mind wandered. "The Fire Wheel Team, huh?"
Blitz Team Base, 1900 Hours, Day 1
Bit's memory of the odd team name suddenly jogged and caught up to him.
"Tomorrow we're facing the Fire Wheel Team," Jamie, the tactical advisor, stated, standing next to the projection screen displaying an overview of the team's specs as made public by the Zoid Battle Commission.
"'Fire Wheel Team?'" Leena echoed, sitting at the chair across from Bit. "Aren't they the biggest losers in Class A?"
"That's what I heard," Brad confirmed, sitting back in his chair with his arms folded, appearing not to care, as usual. "They're also one of the biggest teams around, with eight possible warriors."
"Except that some of them left the group, and the team itself is having financial difficulties," Jamie corrected. The screen changed to display three Zoids-- a Guysack, a Storm Sworder, and a Stealth Viper. "Only three of their registered Zoids are used anymore because they can't afford the upkeep for the rest of them. Most of the Class A teams refuse to challenge them or accept their challenges because of their reputation, so the Zoid Battle Commission has to arrange all their battles for them."
"Reputation... what reputation?" Bit wondered.
"They're supposed to be unpredictable because of the amount of Zoids they have at their disposal," Brad answered. "It's also because each of them have very capable pilots, so people are afraid to challenge them over that."
"But it's still hurting them even when they're not like that, huh?" Leena finished. "Glad I'm not on their team."
"The current rankings of their current pilots from the last Zoid Trials are lower than our scores," Jamie continued. "In fact their Stealth Viper pilot scored in the low sixties."
"On the other hand it's only a Stealth Viper," Bit added, remembering what its pilot said earlier that day.
"What, are you worried about a dumb Stealth Viper?" Leena teased.
"It seems to me," Dr. Toros said, interrupting, "that those Zoids they're using are military-issue. Meaning they're probably surplus hardware from back during the war before the Zoid Battle Commission was set up."
"That makes them OLD!" exclaimed Bit. "If they're winning using fossils then no wonder they're Class A."
"Not to mention Storm Sworders are one of the hardest air Zoids to find, since they're so good," added Brad. "It sort of makes up for their other two below-average Zoids."
"Right, so we can't take them lightly," Jamie agreed, "and we're not handling the Stealth Viper like we did with the Viper Team."
"If you say so," Leena said, unconvinced.
Continuing, "Guysack is armed with a tail-mounted 20mm cannon and two pincer claws-- that's it. They've only switched out the tail for the gunnery pod on three occasions, but I don't think they're going to do it this time. The tail cannon can fire in every direction, but the claws are forward-only; the key to beating this one will be getting in close and behind it or to the sides."
"The Storm Sworder can fight both on the ground and in the air, but it's in their favor to going into the air. It's only got one forward cannon under its neck, and relies primarily on blades attached to each wing."
"I'm sure you can out fly it easily," Brad said.
"Last of all, the Stealth Viper. It's got two 40mm cannons, two grenade launchers, twin dual pod launchers, and two image-recognition surface-to-air missiles. It has good heat suppression and radar deflection armor. Since it is military-issue, it is also equipped with an ECM unit, making missiles less effective against it. So when you go up against it you want to use something other than missiles."
"Guess you're out of this one, Leena," Brad added, jabbing at his fellow warrior.
"What?!" she exclaimed. "You're not going to go out and get easy points while I'm sitting around here!"
"It'd be pointless to waste good ammo on something that can't be hit by it," he continued.
"Guys, guys!" Bit said, getting between the two warriors. "Geez, you don't have to get so worked-up about it Leena."
"If it's not such a big deal, Bit, why don't YOU sit out on this one?" she yelled angrily.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Toros interrupted. "Bit hasn't sat out of a battle since he joined, and we don't want to make it look like he's the only reason we're winning...."
"Uh... thanks, Doc..." Bit said, uneasy. "But don't you need me and Liger out there?"
"I'm sure we can handle it," Brad replied. "Even if they are Class A they're still the lowest of Class A, so these guys shouldn't be a problem."
"And we do need the Raynos to help with the Storm Sworder," Jamie added. "They only have three Zoids, so we have to be handicapped according to the rules."
Bit sighed, then shrugged. "Well, I guess you guys can handle it...."
"Just don't let Leena go against the Stealth Viper," Brad persisted.
Fire Wheel Base, 2200 Hours, Day 1
The leader of the Fire Wheels, Mizuki, a woman in her mid-twenties, sat back in her chair, giving her full view of all three monitors set up at her station. Her youthful face betrayed the experience she had behind the Guysack, the Zoid of her choice. She ran her hands back through her waist-length volume of dark hair, throwing it over the back of the chair to ease some of the strain of sitting back, facing her similarly-aged lieutenants.
The left monitor held the master tactician and Zoid pilot woman, "Spider"-- her battlefield name. Although she was only two years younger than Mizuki Spider was unusually brilliant, but rather cold and calculating. Her eyes seemed to pierce into Mizuki's soul like icy daggers, and although her peers wanted her to lighten- up she refused to change her ways. Her role on the battlefield these days was as the sometimes secondary gunner for the Guysack, since her Warshark's ammunition couldn't be paid for anymore.
The center screen beheld "Warlock," the chief technician and chief Salamander pilot; the secondary pilot left when the team split, so he had to modify the large Zoid to fly without assistance. Unlike many other pilots who wore eye lenses Warlock required them in order to see, as they helped correct his poor vision. His breaths exhaled, revealing cold wisps of air, reflecting his current position deep within the base, a forgotten military installation. The Salamander was similarly impaired as the Warshark, but Warlock's task now was to decrypt the doors to the lower levels of the installation-- and that took him to the cold recesses below, without heating.
Finally, on the third monitor was "Ziel," the ace pilot of the team's Storm Sworder. Just like the vicious iron raptor he piloted Ziel was very efficient in aerial combat, utilizing the Storm Sworder's unpopular blade option now that ammunition was scarce for the team. The lights in his chamber were kept purposefully dim, and only a dark silhouette could be made out on the monitor, as Ziel seemed to like to keep to himself most of the time.
Behind Mizuki stood Shizuka, her apprentice. Even before three members left the team to form their own team Shizuka was always the youngest of the pilots, narrowly shy of twenty years. Where three Zoids were denied ammunition the Guysack and Stealth Viper got first dibs, and whatever was left over went to the Storm Sworder's cannon, as both of the former Zoids were effectively crippled without ammo. Mizuki lead her apprentice by example by not wasting that ammo needlessly, forcing herself and Shizuka to become better shots. She was proud of her apprentice's 57% accuracy rating in the simulators; it was a good margin of miss and more than half the bullets hit something.
Shizuka's field name was "Silencer," but Mizuki herself had no such name. It was always something generic like "Boss."
"Let's hear it," the boss said, expecting her trained warriors to deliver their reports.
"I've finished up the battle plans," Spider began, careful to hide her obvious pride in her brilliance. "And I've analyzed the public data given on the Blitz Team. The one we have to look out for is their Liger Zero; it has a transforming parts capability, and we will be unable to predict with certainty which armor they're going to use."
"I would count on them using the Schneider," Mizuki suggested. "Make a contingency for each of their armors."
Spider nodded. "Right. Anyway, they've got a Raynos now, which isn't reflected in the records yet, as they've only recently acquired it. You can be almost certain they're going to use it against our Storm Sworder."
"I can handle that thing easily," Ziel chirped in. "Raynos aren't equipped for mid-air melee like my Storm Sworder is, so he's going to have to rely on his two cannons. If he hits, first of all...."
"You flyboys are full of it," Warlock interrupted, although he himself flew a flying Zoid.
"They've also a Gunsniper with a Wild Weasel Unit attacked, so it's nothing like the other Gunsnipers we've encountered," continued the master tactician. "History shows that the pilot is prone to waste ammo, but she also hits a lot, too."
"If I had that much ammo to throw away, there wouldn't be a Zoid left," Shizuka grumbled.
"That also makes you rely too much on your ammo," Mizuki added sternly. "And that's unacceptable. The Stealth Viper's ECM unit should be able to deflect most of the missiles from that Wild Weasel Unit."
"Of course, boss, but they're the Blitz Team, and I hardly think they're going to be THAT dumb," Spider pointed out. "They're too good for that."
"Don't make the mistake of overestimating your opponent," the leader countered. "If they're really that good they wouldn't have lost to the Lightning Team. The fact that they lost means they are beatable, too."
"Of course, we lost to the Lightning Team, too," Warlock added under his breath, although Mizuki didn't say anything to that. It was certainly true that the Fire Wheel Team themselves weren't as good as some of the other teams, but it helped to keep the team's feet on the ground.
"You can't go into the simulations assuming that your opponent is always going to make the best choice at the right situation," Mizuki continued. "That's why I make you do several simulations for each possible scenario; if there is a possibility the opponent will make a mistake, we need to know how to maximize our ability to take advantage of it."
"Yes, boss," Spider said with a sigh. "Lastly, they have a Command Wolf; my probability suggests that the Blitz Team will rotate this one out for the match, so I haven't done any serious simulations with it."
"Go back and do the simulations," the boss ordered. "For all you know they'll switch out the Gunsniper instead and then we'll have a problem." She turned to face Warlock. "And you?"
"I'm still working on it," he reported. "Every time I get past one security block there's always another one behind it. I'll finish up the next block tomorrow evening, but who knows how many more blocks there are."
"If there's something usable, or sellable, we'll need it."
"Yeah, I know, I know...."
"Ziel?"
"All the Zoids are prepped," the flyboy said. "I went through and replaced all the parts damaged in the battle this afternoon, and restocked the ammo to your Guysack and the Stealth Viper, but I've few rounds for my Zoid."
"Tough luck," Shizuka replied. "My snaky is totally worthless without ammo."
"If it wasn't for the stupid scheduling we wouldn't have to do two fights in a row," Ziel complained. "And by that I mean the Battle Commission shouldn't screw us like this."
"We're screwed as is, remember? Blitz Team, one of the most promising teams in the league. Fire Wheel Team, least-promising team in Class A. Ammo shortages, bad armor, and uncompetitive Zoids." She sighed, then chuckled to herself. "Don't you just love these uphill battles? We are soooo going to lose."
"I don't plan on losing," Mizuki replied, amused by her apprentice.
"Oh, and Shizu?" Spider voiced. "Do not, I repeat, do NOT, use the switch. My calculations are doing the simulations without that, and if you do use it that could screw up our future battles."
"Dammit, why not?!" she complained. "You've kept telling me that ever since I got that sucker, and I could've used it to win all of the battles we lost!"
"It's a huge advantage to keep secret your ultimate edge," Mizuki explained. "If you use it, and rely on it completely, others will come to expect it, and counter you. Then it won't be such a good edge anymore, will it?"
"But you keep insisting I practice WITH it in the simulator!"
"You'll know when to use it when you get there; not a moment before, and not for the Blitz Team. They aren't worth it."
"Besides," Spider added, "we've won those other battles without it. We don't even NEED it."
Battleground, 0800 Hours, Day 2
The Judge Capsule landed on time, creating a massive crater all around it. The capsule raised out of its hole, and swung open, revealing the white Judge within. Its head 'surveyed' the land as it habitually did, declaring, "The land within a thirty-mile radius is a designated Zoid battle zone."
To the Judge's left, the Blitz Team Hover Cargo pulled to a stop at the edge of the battle area, deploying its three Zoids from its top-mounted catapult: a blue Command Wolf, a heavily-armed Gunsniper, and an aerial teal Raynos.
At that moment the Fire Wheel Team's Dragoon Nest pulled inside the zone. Its rear hangar catapult released a dark silver, bird-like Storm Sworder, and it banked hard to its right to orient its direction back into the battlefield. The lobster-type transport opened its center ramp, located under the head-bridge, allowing a black-painted Guysack off, snapping its scissor-like claws together in anticipation. Finally, the Dragoon Nest's left claw opened up, allowing a black Stealth Viper free.
Satisfied, the Judge continued, "All unauthorized contestants and personnel must leave the battlefield immediately." It once again made a quick scanning sweep of the field. Most of the terrain was barren rocky waste, with few rocky cliffs here and there, but none large enough or significant to use as high ground, rather as cover.
"Area scanned; battlefield set-up. The Blitz Team versus the Fire Wheel Team. Battle mode '0983.'" The Judge raised its arms into the air. "Ready... FIGHT!"
* * *
"I'm going on ahead," Wild Eagle announced. The flyboy alter-ego of Jamie added boldly, "I'll see if I can clip that Storm Sworder's wings quick."
"Roger that, Wild Eagle," Brad acknowledged in reply, leading with his Command Wolf, Leena's Gunsniper following behind and to the right. "If it's still close enough to the Guysack and Stealth Viper try to draw it away."
Over the system they heard Bit's voice from the Hover Cargo. "Good luck, guys!"
"There won't be anything left of them," Leena boasted, "when I'm through. This'll be a piece of cake!"
* * *
"Raynos is moving out ahead of the pack," Spider said, appearing suddenly on the screen in the Guysack's cockpit. "The other two are running on behind it."
"So, they're coming to meet us, huh?" Mizuki determined, amused. Although the Storm Sworder and Stealth Viper were very fast, the Guysack was not, and the boss wanted to be certain she had cover so as not to get caught by something a lot faster than her.
That was essentially every other Zoid in the battle, of course. "Uphill battles are more interesting," she mused.
"I'll get the Raynos," Ziel stated, breaking out of formation.
"Negative on that," the boss commanded. "Stay with us."
"Why not?" he complained, wavering back into formation.
"Because you're too damn eager to plug the Raynos, that's why," Silencer answered. "If we can plug it on the first pass then the battle'll be easier, and that'll be a lot harder if I can't shoot it."
"That's a big 'if.' We all know he's better than that, and you're going to miss with only TWO STA missiles."
"Maybe. Or maybe not."
"Cut the chatter," Mizuki ordered. She sighed, leaning back slightly against her pilot chair. The Liger Zero, unexpectedly, was not present for the battle, which disappointed the Fire Wheel boss. However, that gave their team the best scenario for victory, provided they could get rid of the Raynos. The Stealth Viper and Guysack could retaliate against aerial threats, but not exceedingly well; if the Storm Sworder failed to bring it down both the Viper and the Guysack are sitting ducks to strafe runs.
* * *
"Wild Eagle here, I've visual contact. I'll pull the Storm Sworder out, and the rest is yours!"
He considered doing a quick strafe on the Guysack and Stealth Viper, but the Storm Sworder was already moving ahead to intercept. The Wild Eagle cracked a smile, eager to duel against a fellow aviator.
The communications screen flickered to life, and an unfamiliar man stared back at him, although most of his features were obscured by a sun-visor flight helmet. "Let's make this quick, kid," the pilot of the Storm Sworder challenged.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Wild Eagle answered in reply, killing the visual. He felt the cannon beneath the cockpit rumble to life as he readied it to fire, intending to take out his aerial rival in the first pass.
Thumbing the firing trigger, a stream of deadly bullets flew out toward the Storm Sworder, but the Raynos was forced to bank right to dodge a hail of fire from the Storm Sworder's own cannon. Wild Eagle turned his head around and saw that the Storm Sworder banked left, and was wheeling around to get behind the Raynos.
A warning alarm flared, tracking a missile lock. Undaunted, he kicked the throttle to full, breaking out of the surface targeting easily. Wild Eagle didn't need to think to know it was the Stealth Viper trying to take a potshot at him, as the Storm Sworder wasn't equipped with any missiles-- only the forward cannon, its retractable head sword lance, and its wing blades.
Which meant, once the Storm Sworder was out of ammo, it would be forced to make mid-air slash passing, and that was only a problem if it somehow managed to keep up with the Raynos.
He yanked the stick left, then right, avoiding another deadly hail from the silver Zoid. He had no idea how much ammunition the Fire Wheels loaded it up with, but the way it was firing the Storm Sworder was going to run out of ammo fast, and for nothing.
"Wow," he shouted, knowing the enemy pilot was listening, "I'm not impressed!"
"I've flown head-on in a lightning storm; don't you screw around with me, you little punk!" the pilot cried, obviously angry. "Dammit!"
The sudden cause for alarm on the part of the Storm Sworder's pilot was evident, as the bullet streams ceased. Wild Eagle snorted in amusement; the Storm Sworder had even less ammunition than he thought. "Now I'll be happy to oblige your request and start playing seriously!"
He cut the speed of the Raynos, then hard-turned to line up his own shot. The Storm Sworder's head lance was already extending, as if getting ready for its mid-air joust. Satisfied that the enemy was committing to the joust Wild Eagle thumbed the trigger, unleashing his own stream of bullets.
However, at the last moment the Storm Sworder broke from its intended flight path, veering off to the right and over the bullet stream, pulling a braking maneuver. The Raynos was moving too fast to slow itself down as the Wild Eagle knew what the other pilot was intending to do. Letting out a roar he kicked on the afterburners, pushing the Raynos further ahead and past the Storm Sworder, narrowly missing its clipping dive with its right wing.
He spared a quick glance over his shoulder, killing the afterburners after knowing the Storm Sworder was getting ready to make another pass. "That's more like it!"
* * *
"I've contact with the Guysack!" Brad announced as his Command Wolf bounded across the wasteland.
Although visual contact had not been reached the radar blip for the Guysack was within strike range. The mercenary had long since switched-off the blips for the Raynos and Storm Sworder, as it made him sick watching them move around on the radar screen the way they do. Brad looked over his shoulder, visually confirming that Leena had kept up with him.
"The Guysack's hiding behind the rocks over there," Leena said, indicating a point slightly to the left of Brad. "I can't track the Stealth Viper."
"It's definitely got good heat suppression," Brad added, quickly toggling the heat tracker on the console. "It looks like they're hiding out and waiting for us, as expected."
He brought the Command Wolf around to circle the rock the Guysack was hiding behind from the left, while Leena's Gunsniper took off for the right, intending a pincer attack. It would appear to others that they were trying to flank and corner the Guysack, but both pilots knew it was only an attempt to draw out the hiding Stealth Viper. The longer the Viper stayed in its hiding hole the harder it would be to take it down later; it was better to flush it out now by pressuring its teammate.
The moment the Command Wolf exposed itself to the Guysack's 270 degree arc of fire its tail cannon opened fire, but Brad pushed hard on the acceleration, moving faster than the turret could rotate, but several bullets bit into the Wolf's rear right leg armor. At the same time the Gunsniper entered the range of fire, but a loud scream and gunfire signaled to Brad that they found the Stealth Viper.
Moving in a wide arc Brad now saw what the enemy was doing. The Guysack, with its back to the rock, had a natural gun position toward him, as the tail could swing faster toward its natural forward position rather than 180 degrees around. Coiled on top of the Guysack's back was the Stealth Viper, firing its two head-mounted 40mm cannons on the Gunsniper, and it was hitting, as the Stealth Viper's head could move with greater mobility than the Guysack's tail gun.
"You guys are history!" Leena cried.
"Wait, Leena!" Brad yelled, braking his Command Wolf to turn and line a shot against the Guysack.
But it was already too late, as Leena was already flipping switches. "I'll take them both out at once! Weasel Unit Total Assault!"
As he expected the Guysack and Stealth Viper were not moving from their position, seemingly unconcerned that a hail of missiles originating from the Gunsniper was about to rain destruction. Brad tried to ignore the noise and squeezed off a few shots from the Wolf's top- mounted cannon, then broke off to avoid more bullet rounds.
He felt the blast of explosion behind him, followed by Leena's protests of disbelief.
"N-no way!"
* * *
Bit stood up from his chair, having watched all of the Weasel Unit's missiles fly over, around, and past the Stealth Viper and Guysack combination, either blowing up its hiding rock or the dirt behind it.
"Wow!" he exclaimed. "That's the first time I've seen that happen!"
"That's actually quite clever," Toros admitted, scratching his chin. "Not only did they hide the Stealth Viper's radar, heat, and physical presence by standing on top of each other, they're using the Viper's electronic countermeasures to distort targeting the Guysack as well."
"They're WHAT?!" they heard Leena scream. "You guys didn't say anything about that!"
Her complaints were cut short as the Stealth Viper continued fire on the Gunsniper. The radar screen showed that the Stealth Viper and Guysack were now splitting-up, now that their rocky cover was gone, with the Viper going after the Gunsniper and the Guysack the Command Wolf, as predicted.
Although the Command Wolf could handle the Guysack, the Gunsniper would be in trouble once the Stealth Viper got within melee range, as the Gunsniper's cannons could not hit targets that close.
"Leena, you'd better fall back," Bit suggested.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled back angrily. "I'll get this guy before it gets to me!"
Sighing, Bit closed the transmission to the Gunsniper for a moment, turning back toward Toros. "Hey, Doc...? What do you think's going to happen?"
Toros folded his arms. "What'll you think will happen, Bit?"
He looked up toward the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well, I guess the Stealth Viper's going to get that close to the Gunsniper, and the Guysack is buying time with the Command Wolf until the Stealth Viper is done. Then after that they could assist the Storm Sworder in taking down the Raynos."
"Pretty good," Toros complimented. "That's what I was thinking, too."
"So Brad needs to take out the Guysack and help Leena, and then they can handle the Storm Sworder," Bit added.
"Mm-hmm. The only problem is we don't know how good the Guysack pilot is with that Zoid. It's all up to those two now."
* * *
"Did you hear that, Brad?" Toros said. "You must take out the Guysack as soon as possible and help Leena."
"Yeah, I gotcha, Doc," the mercenary pilot replied. "Easier said than done."
The Command Wolf took two bounds to the left, then turned and fired shots at the Guysack, but the scorpion-type Zoid was unexpectedly nimble for an insectoid monstrosity. Its lower center of gravity afforded it better control on surfaces, making the Guysack suitable for combat on all terrains; its only flaws are a distinct lack of armor and effective weaponry. If Brad wanted to hit the Guysack he would have to get into melee range, but that would also mean he had to put up with the Guysack's pincers. However, since the pincers were forward-only, all he had to do was find a way to get on one of its other three sides.
Since the scorpion was so maneuverable tackling it from the left or right would only end in facing the pincers, so the best way to get around it was to attack from the rear. However, the tail cannon could easily nail him from there, but there was not much choice in it. As much as Brad liked to get out of such a simple battle without a lot of holes in his Wolf's armor, he needed to finish this now, before it got worse.
* * *
"Come on, now!" Silencer cried, weaving her Stealth Viper around the bullet shots as it slithered closer to the Gunsniper. "You can aim better than that!"
It was not dodging bullets at all; there wasn't any Zoid built that she knew of that could do it. The Gunsniper pilot, in her panic, was making predictable moves, and it wasn't difficult to judge where her sprays were going just by carefully watching how the top platform of the Gunsniper was moving. Silencer scoffed; the Wild Weasel Unit was overrated.
For her part the Viper pilot was taking her time, savoring the moment as she weaved the snake Zoid back and forth in the dirt, inching closer, but not close enough for one good strike. The trick was to not put the Gunsniper pilot in a state of panic such that she would break and run; the Gunsniper, although top-heavy, could still outrun the Stealth Viper. The Silencer only needed for her to forget about that.
"'Tis I, the snake charmer," she said to herself, having not squeezed off a single shot of her own during the Stealth Viper's dance. "Paralyzed with fear, I shall strike, and savor my prey!"
The moment the Gunsniper's cannons spun dry, the Stealth Viper reared its head back and lashed out, quickly coiling around the weapon platform's legs.
"What ego comes up, must stay down!" Silencer cried, squeezing the Gunsniper's legs together.
* * *
"Computer frozen?!" Leena cried in disbelief, a high-pitched whine the only response the Gunsniper computer would give her. "You've got to be kidding me!"
She slammed a fist against the console, in frustration. The Stealth Viper that bested her lifted its head into view, and stared down at her, as if contemplating whether or not to finish off its prey.
* * *
Mizuki risked a glance in the Stealth Viper's direction, glad to see that the Gunsniper toppled over on its own weight. Quickly she tore herself back to the fight at hand, quickly remembering that the Command Wolf was the bigger threat.
Said opponent fired several more shots in her direction, which were easily avoided, then the Wolf ran off in the opposite direction.
"What the hell?!"
"Boss, the Command Wolf is retreating," she heard Spider say, receiving audio-only.
"I can see that; I want to know why."
"I don't know, but don't go after it."
"I know," Mizuki acknowledged, her thoughts following the same train as her tactician. "I need to see what he's up to first."
Another communication came in, this time from Silencer. "Gunsniper locked-up. I'm on my way."
"No, keep your distance," the boss ordered. "The Command Wolf is up to something, and if it gets both of us, then we lose."
"Roger that," her apprentice replied.
This time Ziel checked-in. "Hey, if you're not that busy, how about creating a diversion for me? This Raynos guy is pissing me off."
"Oh really?" Silencer said, feigning sweetness. "I've two kids here that could help you out. Just say 'please.'"
"Look, fire the damn missiles or I'll strafe YOU!" the flyboy yelled angrily.
"Shizu, go help him," Mizuki ordered. "This is no time to argue."
By this time the Command Wolf had turned around, and was heading for Mizuki's Guysack at full speed.
"A running start?! He's got to be joking!"
Mizuki frantically put the Guysack in reverse, falling back and quickly scanning the grid for any rocky outcroppings, but the closest one was the victim of the Wild Weasel Unit. Cursing her timing, the boss of the Fire Wheels cut the reverse, powered-up the electrical charges in the pincers, and charged forward at full speed.
"This'll be the last thing you expect, Wolfie!" she cried, grinding her teeth together.
* * *
As Mizuki predicted, Brad wasn't expecting the Guysack to charge, which meant the pilot knew what he was trying to do. Quickly he redid the calculations, coming up with a new solution now that the Guysack was in forward motion. The jump would have to come sooner than expected, but there still should be enough speed.
That is, provided the Guysack didn't make a sudden stop or turn on the way, but Brad was confident he got the Guysack pilot worked-up enough to make her forget about that.
He watched the radar grid closely, and the solution appeared, just in front of his position. Bracing himself, Brad switched on the boost drives that forced the Command Wolf to jump.
As he hoped, the Guysack hadn't changed its course, and the Command Wolf landed square on top of the scorpion's back, smashing through its armor with its weight and momentum. The cockpit rocked Brad around a bit, but the satisfactory crunch that came from crushing an aluminum can underfoot was there to greet him when it stopped.
Brad looked out to the sides, satisfied that the eight legs supporting the Guysack had given way under the weight of a Zoid heavier in density than a Stealth Viper. He barely heard the Judge disqualify the Guysack from the battle, and turned his attentions toward Leena's Gunsniper.
Too late, however, as the Gunsniper was already down on the ground, and Leena was complaining loads over the channels. The Stealth Viper had disappeared again, but this time there was only one blip left on the radar.
"Guess you don't have good enough stealth after all," Brad noted, commanding the Wolf to give chase.
* * *
"Mizuki! Mizuki! Are you alright?"
Popping open the cockpit, coughing from the smoke that suddenly billowed within, the boss of the Fire Wheels watched the Command Wolf bound off. The Guysack was completely flat against the ground, and all eight of its legs had snapped-off. Not to mention the telltale paw prints on the Guysack's back.
"Damn," she cursed, ignoring Spider's communications. "That's going to cost a lot of paint jobs."
* * *
For the most part, Ziel was sick of flying around in circles, dodging bullets. As he circled for another pass he considered the Raynos. Its pilot was very good, no doubt, squeezing shots only to keep Ziel away from a mid-air wing slash. It was all he could do to ignore the itch in his trigger finger, to fire off the ammo he reserved, and hopefully, by now, convinced the Raynos pilot he didn't have any. Spider was correct; they were counting on him to run out of ammo.
The only trouble was he couldn't find a good time to shoot. If he fired at the wrong time he would miss his chance for a flyby hit, and then his advantage would be gone. If he waited too late the Storm Sworder may be nose-diving. But now that the Stealth Viper was free, it had two good STA missiles to annoy the Raynos with. If he played his cards right that could lead to a decisive victory.
The moment the Stealth Viper launched the STA missiles the Raynos would try its best to shake them off, and Ziel guessed it wouldn't be difficult for the pilot to do so. That would hopefully open a window of opportunity for the Storm Sworder to make its strike, and he would likely have to unload some of the reserve ammo to set up the wing clipping.
"Here goes nothing!" he heard Silencer cry.
As if on cue the Raynos reacted, and Ziel's radar indicated that the two STA missiles have indeed launched. Even though that gave away the Viper's position it wouldn't matter if he could take out the Raynos; whatever was left on the ground would be his. The teal Zoid tilted right and kicked its afterburners; Ziel maneuvered the Storm Sworder to his right to catch the Raynos on the turnaround.
He mapped-out the scenario in his mind. The Raynos would try at all costs to ditch the missiles. Even though the Stealth Viper's STA missiles didn't pack enough punch to destroy the Zoid it was still enough to clip its wings. Since there were no good rocky outcroppings within the immediate area the only true solution would be to dive, then pull up at the last moment, causing the missiles to impact against the ground. All Ziel had to do was be there when he dove.
Keeping one eye on the radar the Raynos purposefully weaved to and fro and around in arcs; the Storm Sworder moved along the outer arc to meet the opposing Zoid. Both missiles kept up with the Raynos, and were gaining fast.
Ziel pulled his eyes away from the radar; the Raynos wasn't diving as expected. Instead, the pilot was aiming directly toward him at high speed.
"Clever," he muttered, unwilling to participate in an exchange of targets. Reaching onto the console the pilot killed the engines, angling the stick downward.
As gravity caught him and threatened to yank him back to terra firma the Raynos and both missiles zoomed past him overhead, and Ziel congratulated himself. Even though the missiles were identity-lock they could still detonate prematurely if they impacted against something else-- say, a Storm Sworder-- while pursuing the target. Keeping the engine on would only have served to cut the margin closer as the Raynos and Storm Sworder's distance would've been closer to one another, and there would have been a greater chance of eating the missiles. Only an ameteur would make that mistake.
Quickly bringing the engines back online Ziel kicked on the afterburners and quickly regained control of his descent. Taking a quick glance out each side of the cockpit window he finally realized that the Raynos was making its diving maneuver to ditch the missiles; its pilot probably understood what was going to happen. Ziel yanked the stick downward to pursue.
The landscape quickly became larger in the windshield and the sky disappeared completely as Ziel brought the Storm Sworder in a near-straight nosedive. The Raynos descended at a less steep angle, but began to pull-up. Ziel ignored the missiles, easing his angle of descent to line-up his cannon with the Raynos. The moment the targeting computer pinged, he thumbed the trigger.
"I hate easy targets," Ziel said, grinning to himself.
Fire rained down upon the Raynos, putting holes through its wings and producing satisfying plumes of smoke.
* * *
The Wild Eagle felt each bullet tear through the armor of the Raynos, and he frantically tried to level out the Zoid's body for a safer emergency landing. He had to give the Storm Sworder pilot credit for fooling him; he never expected him to have any more ammo left, not after this long of fighting without using it. Of course, such a stunt was going to cost the Storm Sworder, too.
Land caught up to the Raynos quickly, and Wild Eagle braced himself. The only consolation for being shot down was, judging from the Storm Sworder's frantic attempt to get the shot in, it wasn't going to have time to pull-up before hitting the ground.
* * *
Silencer watched as the Storm Sworder narrowly missed a flat body landing. The Zoid's neck tore a hole in the ground, then flipped the craft over from momentum. Then it flipped over several more times, on its wings, and then sliding off somewhere on its back.
"This isn't going to be pretty," she muttered to herself, quickly moving the Viper from one rocky outcropping to another.
The Command Wolf was still in reasonably good shape, and the Stealth Viper was attempting to find good ground from which to strike. After firing its missiles Silencer was forced into a quick skirmish before losing the Wolf, and now she was forced to hide while she tried to think of a way to beat her opponent.
She wiped her palms against her coat, forcing herself to relax and breath. Her heart pounded with exhilaration, being up against someone that was obviously better than she was, and who beat even Mizuki.
"Perhaps this Blitz Team does deserve its reputation," she mused. "So it's just me and him, huh?"
"Don't use it," Spider insisted. "You have to beat him without the secret weapon."
"You don't have to remind me," Silencer replied, punching more keys on the console. A chest compartment along the Stealth Viper's body opened, and a mechanical arm holding a mortar appeared. She guided the arm downward, shoving the mortar into the ground, orienting it upward. "It won't be as satisfying, will it?"
"That's the kind of stuff I want to hear!" Mizuki encouraged. "This is what you've been trained for; even though Command Wolves outclass your Zoid in every way you can still beat him!"
"Cut that 'you can do it' bull," she hissed, annoyed at her sudden virtual pep squad's appearance. "If you pressure me I'm going to crack."
The pilot reached under the console, and adjusted the heat suppressor further, praying silently that she really was gone from the Wolf's sight. The boss was right; the Command Wolf outclassed her Zoid, and the only true advantage was to live up to the Stealth Viper's name. All she had to do was wait for the right moment to strike.
Or rather, make that opportunity.
"Okay, Shizu," she told herself, "he's nothing special. Just another punk kid with an overpowered quadruped... you can take care of him...."
Silencer imagined that the others were amused by this, and the tingling sensation in her arms wouldn't go away.
"I don't understand. Why can't I calm down? What is it about this battle that excites me?"
* * *
"I don't see her, Doc," Brad said, his eyes scanning the area in his forward arc. "This Stealth Viper may as well be using stealth technology, too."
"But it's not," Toros replied over the link. "You must keep your eyes open. Don't rely on the radar to help you."
"Easy for you to say."
Slowly, Brad edged the Command Wolf around each rocky outcropping, knowing that the Stealth Viper was hiding behind one of them. The problem was, each time he rounded a corner the Wolf was vulnerable to attack, as the top-mounted back cannon could not turret; its range of fire was only directly ahead. So for a few precious seconds the Command Wolf would be open to attack and the Stealth Viper was free to take shots or run off to another hole in another direction; the snake Zoid had the advantage of being far more maneuverable than a quadruped Zoid.
"Not as easy as you thought it would be?"
Brad froze in his tracks, not recognizing the voice.
"Come on," beckoned the woman's voice, and Brad realized it must be the Stealth Viper pilot. "Show me your true power!"
"Triangulate that," he ordered, relaying the message to the Hover Cargo.
"Don't bother. By the time you figure out where I am, it'll be too late."
The Command Wolf's head swung side-to-side. "This is getting kinda old," he taunted, hoping to bait the pilot into making a mistake. "I thought you Fire Wheel guys were better than this."
"Heh, heh. You guys are amusing, taking out one Zoid of ours for each one we take down. Too bad the trend is going to continue, and you'll be out of Zoids to take ME out with!"
So she's a talker, too. He edged the Command Wolf away from the rocks. "I was kinda hoping that you'd give me a better challenge. Too much talking, and not enough shooting."
"BANG!"
Brad jumped in his seat, alarmed at the sudden yell in the audio link. He switched on the visual for a moment, noting that the female pilot was making faces at him, then killed it. It was then followed by terrible, cackling laughter.
"Brad," Dr. Toros said, over the sound of the mad cackling, "we've got a fix on the Stealth Viper's location. It's...."
All at once three explosions rocked Brad in the cockpit, realizing that three of the nearby rocks were now smoking. A second later launched grenades impacted against his blue armor, rocking the Wolf further. Bits of shrapnel rained downwind.
Suddenly a red blip flared to life on the radar, but it was already on top of the Command Wolf. The Zoid protested against a physical hit, of steel grinding against steel. Looking over his shoulder, upward, the Stealth Viper had sheared-off the cannon, and was now staring down at him menacingly.
No, the Viper wasn't simply standing on him, it was wrapped around the Command Wolf's body.
"Game over," the enemy pilot shouted, obviously pleased with herself.
Gritting his teeth, Brad yanked hard right on the controls, forcefully turning the Command Wolf onto its side, bringing the Stealth Viper down with him. Machine gune fire kicked up dirt where the cockpit used to be, but Brad was thrown hard against the cockpit, with the window pressed against the ground. He looked straight up out the top of the window, and spied the Stealth Viper's head lying on its side in the dirt. He certainly hoped the system froze from the impact.
But sadly, the Viper's head reoriented itself back to face him. "That was a funny little stunt, but it's over now."
* * *
"Battle over!" declared the judge. "Battle over! The winner is... the Fire Wheel Team!"
Toros sat back in his chair, sighing. "Well, so much for that one."
"Ah, that's no sweat, Doc," Bit assured him. "We're still better than they are. We'll just have to challenge them again, and I'll win it for you!"
One screen flickered to life, and Leena appeared quite annoyed. "WHAT did you just say?"
Another came up, this time with Jamie. "Uh, guys, how about picking me up?"
"Come on, Bit," Brad complained, opening his own transmission. "It's not like you're the reason we win, you know."
"How do you know I'm not?" Bit replied boastfully. "Me and Liger could've beaten that Stealth Viper... no problem!"
In unison, each of the pilots yelled, "BIT!!"
* * *
Shizuka the Silencer sat back against her seat, sighing in relief, but the tingling sensation would not go away. In the span of a few seconds, she finally understood what it was that was egging her. Reaching to the console, she opened a channel to each of the Blitz Team members.
"Congratulations," she told them.
"It should be you that is congratulated," a middle- aged man, probably the Blitz Team technician, said. "Using remote grenade launchers like that as a distraction...."
"It was a cheesy trick," Shizuka interrupted. "In an even match I would have lost; but then, battles are hardly even, aren't they? Mr. Wolf pilot, I salute your abilities; maybe next time it'll be even closer."
She smiled, amused by the bewildered expression on the Command Wolf pilot's face. "Uh... sure."
She gave a quick, informal solute. "From here I'll train harder. I hope you guys will do, too, for the next time we fight."
* * *
Mizuki ran her fingers down the side of the smashed black Guysack, just as the Dragoon Nest arrived and deployed the Macurtis. The smaller lobster's claws were adjusted for scooping, and was strong enough to tow the wrecked Zoid. In the other direction the Stealth Viper was approaching.
How many years was it, father? Yes, it was over ten years ago I first laid eyes on this black scorpion. It was similarly as long ago I trained myself to pilot it against your wishes. I remember the first singles match; you were so angry, and I was so proud, slicing that guy like a tuna can. I think, those times as I earned money for our family, that I started helping the others in town, building our team slowly from the ground up. Every scratch and dent on your armor, Guysack, was our badge of honor, and we never gave in despite how easily we became outclassed. I'm proud of all those years....
A live communication came in from Spider, from within the cockpit of the Macurtis. "Damn, that thing's a wreak."
"This guy's beyond salvage now," the boss said. "It was a good last battle, wasn't it?"
"Cheer up, boss," Spider encouraged. "We can use the prize money to buy another...."
Mizuki shook her head. "We'll strip this Guysack for parts. Anything else we can't use we'll sell for cash. I can't pilot another Zoid like I could him."
The Macurtis pilot remained silent.
"Our first priority is to fix the Stealth Viper and Storm Sworder, then we'll re-outfit the Warshark to take my place. From there we'll just have to rebuild our finances, slow but steady." Mizuki cast her eyes to the approaching Stealth Viper. "I think we've enough capable warriors to carry this team on... to victory."
* * *
Fire Wheel Base, 1600 Hours, Day 2
"Got it," Warlock muttered, finishing keying the decryption code to the security door.
He looked out the window of the control room to the hangar, and to the number of decrypted passkey doors required to open the chamber at the far end. Warlock counted six-- now seven-- open. The last six times his efforts were rewarded with another sealed door; whatever it was that was back there was certainly something the old military didn't want people to touch easily.
The sliding double doors parted, protesting against the cold condensation the entire hangar was suffering from ever since the facility was abandoned. It was sheer luck Mizuki found this place, and it was this place that prompted her to start the Fire Wheel Team in the first place. Each of the Fire Wheels came from a class of people who simply could not afford to buy and maintain Zoids; to people such as them, having the ability to enter Zoid battles was a dream come true.
Warlock stood up in his seat, catching the reflected glint of white and blue armor. Boxy armor at that. He scrambled for the controls, heart pounding in realization that this was it. Flipping all the light switches of the underground hangar on, more of the new Zoid's features could be made out.
It stood low to the ground, and was as large as a Liger. Its white and blue armor was made of very simple geometric shapes, but looked incredibly sturdy despite its bulky appearance. A cockpit window 'visor' armor rest in a raised position, providing what would be complete armor when in the lowered position, like a tank. From the front it was armed with two clamp-like claws, rather than Guysack's scissor pincers. It stood on eight legs, like the Guysack, but the legs were more armored and reinforced in all the structurally- weak places. On its back was a mounted, turreted dual- barreled shock cannon. Up and along its back formed a scorpion-like tail, with one large gatling cannon as its stinger, and two smaller cannons to each side of it as backup.
Sliding back to the control console Warlock brought up the technical specifications of the mysterious Zoid. Reaching to the comm, he said, "Mizuki... everybody, to Hangar 7, immediately. You should come see this."
It was rare to see a Deathpion these days, as they are expensive as heck, but this was no ordinary Deathpion, according to the specs. It was the second, unfinished, Death Stinger, one of the military's top- secret ultimate weapons in the war.
* * *
No words could describe what Mizuki was thinking, staring at the Death Stinger head-on in the cold hangar. Every aspect of the beast was just like the Guysack, and then some.
"Is this a sign?" she wondered. "How could I...?"
"Boss," she heard her apprentice say, her voice echoing in the empty chamber. "Please don't think of this as a replacement. Think of it as... well... your gift. A gift from all of us, for what you've done for this team."
"It will never replace my Guysack."
"Nor should it," Shizuka agreed. "Nothing will replace your old partner." She waved her arm, gesturing the Death Stinger. "The past is done; now all there's to do is lead us to our great future. Only you can do that, because you are our leader."
Mizuki snorted, lowering her head. "It figures, I guess. You guys would fall apart without me."
Turning away from the Death Stinger, she ordered, "Get the simulator ready! Add this guy into the database; we're in it for the long haul."