Luineraugwen: Hello people, I'm having another go at a Zoids fic. I should really focus on finishing one of my other stories before writing another one but once I get ideas for a new story then I have to write them down…which means I start writing the fic. There's no hope for me is there. I'm not sure when another chapter of the Genkaku story will be up so you'll have to be patient. I am getting there…slowly. Snail pace.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids or any of the characters.
Deirdre's fingers swept gracefully over the control panel of her plane as she flew thousands of feet in the air over Miami. She was due to land at a nearby airbase but she had spotted a storm advancing towards her and Deirdre's instincts told her that she either had to either make an emergency landing, head back the way she came or go around. Flying through the storm wasn't an option because of the amount of lightning barely contained in the clouds. The plane's fuel gage began to go off, warning her that there wasn't enough fuel to turn back and there was no clear landing spaces anywhere below her. Deirdre's only choice was to fly around the storm and pray that it didn't change its direction or that her plane didn't run out of fuel. Deirdre made her mind up and altered the direction her aircraft was taking. She was going around…but she unfortunately for her, Deirdre didn't really register the way she turned. She was heading off the coast of Miami.
Deirdre carefully maneuvered her plane around the storm, her eyes watching the lightning, hoping it wouldn't strike her. She looked out of the cockpit and saw the water below her. Her equipment showed that land was far behind her. There was no turning back now.
Suddenly all the equipment in the cockpit started going haywire. Dials were spinning around and her altitude controls indicated that she had dropped hundreds of feet in the air, although that wasn't true. Out of the corner of her eye, Deirdre noticed a tick grey fog coming towards her. It finally dawned on Deirdre, although she'd never believed the stories that she was flying over or near the borders of the Bermuda Triangle. This brought back painful memories. Her father Graham Hamilton and twin brother Nathaniel had mysteriously disappeared while on a recon mission in the same area, just like she was. Deirdre hadn't believed the incomplete report that her commander had released to the public and she suspected that the enemy had either captured them or even worse.
Deirdre couldn't see a way around the fog so her only option was to fly straight through it. She'd heard about people that had actually managed to pass through the dangerous sea almost unhindered. Deirdre planned to travel straight to the other side and survive to tell the tale.
The young woman's attention focused in the plane's controls. For some unknown reason, the further Deirdre flew into the fog, the more the plane began to shudder and she soon found it difficult to stabilize the machine.
Suddenly the plane's left engine exploded and smoke began to pour out. The aircraft's nose tipped and Deirdre was soon spiraling out of control towards the sea. Lights in the cockpits flashed and the motions of the plane began to make her feel sick as well as disorientated. Deirdre had completed hundreds of simulations for this kind of procedure but she just couldn't put out of it. The thought of ejecting out of the cockpit crossed her mind but she would most probably die from drowning or something else would most probably before a rescue team found her…this was the Bermuda Triangle after all.
The plane hit the water with a large splash and without exploding. The almost black water rose around the aircraft and it soon covered the cockpit. Air bubbles drifted in Deirdre's view and she was also glad to see that the water had extinguished a little flame that she had seen coming out of the destroyed engine. Deirdre knew that this was one mission that she wouldn't survive…just like her father and brother. She would surely run out of oxygen or the water pressure would crush the plane like a Coke can because it clearly didn't float.
What little sunlight there was above the surface shone dimly through the water to Deirdre. It was a solemn reminder of something she would never see again. As darkness took over the plane, Deirdre felt around for a box that she kept near her feet when she flew. It was a carved rosewood box that she kept her father's hat, uniform, medals, some family photos and his favorite Shakespeare book. The air was thinning and Deirdre was finding it hard to breathe. A headache was forming and her eyes were unfocused.
"Is this how dad and Nathaniel went out or did they die on impact? Well, I guess I'll never know, will I" Deirdre whispered as her eyelids drooped even further. Suddenly a blinding light erupted from below and extended for miles. It engulfed the plane and the woman looked around but she couldn't see anything except the light.
"Be lost no more, my child" a voice rang out. It sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. If it was even possible, the brightness of the light intensified until Deirdre couldn't take it any more and she passed out.
"Colonel Shubaltz, security on the Ultrasaurus has detected an intruder or foreign object on the tail" an officer reported to the Imperial colonel because he was the only high-ranking officer in the command area.
"Bring up the surveillance camera in that area" Karl ordered and several different camera views came up but all of them showed Deirdre's plane sitting precariously on the Ultrasaurus's tail. Everyone looked at it for a few moments because none of them had ever seen plane like that before.
"Stop the Ultrasaurus. Moonbay, get the Gustav out there and somehow get that thing off this zoid. It looks like it could fall any time soon. I'll lead a group of soldiers and we'll meet you in Hanger 1, Moonbay" Karl said. It wasn't one his best orders he'd ever given bit it was still followed. Moonbay stopped the giant zoid in a matter of minutes and rushed out of get her Gustav. Karl hurried off after her, meeting up with the soldiers he was commanding and going to the hanger.
Moonbay and a few mechanics drove out to the spot where Deirdre's plane was positioned. The Colonel had been right, the aircraft could fall at any moment so Moonbay immediately went about saving the machine and it's pilot. 10 agonizing minutes later, the plane was sitting poised steadily on one of the Gustav's trailers and hitching a ride.
The Gustav soon appeared in the hanger and as soon as it stopped, the awaiting soldiers swarmed it. They climbed all over the fighter plane and looked through the perspex shield.
"Colonel Shubaltz, sir, there's someone in there" one of the soldiers pointed out and Karl made this way over to him.
"See if you can get this cockpit shield to open" he ordered as he kicked the solid shield and received a painful toe in return. After a few frustrated tries, quite a fair few curses and someone pressing an almost hidden button, the cockpit opened. There, in the pilot seat, sat an immobile person, clearly unconscious. As Colonel Shubaltz made his way closer to the edge of the cockpit, the soldiers raised their guns as a muffled sound came from beneath the helmet. Karl paused for a moment, then took the helmet off, revealing Deirdre's face. Everyone gasped.
"It's a woman!"
"What's she doing in this thing?"
"Hey, a woman belongs in the house, not a weapon"
Karl ignored all the sexist comments around his and looked at Deirdre. Her skin was pale, her lips bright red and her hair was strangely white. He proceeded to unbuckle her from the seat and once that was done, he prepared to lift her out of the cockpit but a hand shot out and stopped him. Karl jumped and brilliant green eyes met with sparkling violet. Deirdre's breathing was heavy and she seemed somewhat lethargic but she continued holding Karl's wrist in her hand. It was so tight that he was beginning to feel his bones cracking.
"It's alright. Your safe here" he whispered quietly and Deirdre's eyes widened for a few seconds before she passed out again. Karl gently lifted her into his arms and called out.
"Alert the Medical Ward. I'm bringing someone in". He jumped back to the ground before making his way to his destination.
Luineraugwen: Did anyone like that chapter? Sorry it was somewhat short and boring. I'll try to make the next one better. R&R