Chapter 2
The week that followed Wolf's first training session was pretty slow, the fox sisters had gone to hit a supply convoy carrying med supplies with Vanessa so he was doing small arms training with the Redler pilots Tango and Lemur. The two cousins were, in Wolf's opinion, total lunatics of the greatest kind, they enjoyed a good prank and knew every good joke in the world, but they also knew when to turn it off even though they never seemed to.
During their time on the firing range Wolf worked up from getting knocked off his feet or kicked in the face by every gun he fired to at least being able to hit the target. Once that happened Lemur started leaving the ammo and gun racks open at the König pilot's request so he could practice.
The highlight of the week was when his König Wolf sent two of the mechanics to a close by doctor by way of a single kick when they tried to take a look at her without her Master or his Organoid, or even Vailen's Organoid, Tyrant, around. The jade green Organoid had a somewhat calming effect on the massive black on red wolf that no one could explain. It was that incident that had him standing in between Razor and his König.
"Your Zoid just sent two of my only mechanics to the hospital Wolf," the blonde haired man said with a calm tone despite the anger in his eyes, "They aren't able to tell me what happened right now, so you need to."
"From what I can tell they were trying to get a look at her mechanics without me or Blaze, or even Tyrant around," Wolf replied seriously, noticing out of the corner of his eye a flash of green pop out from behind the leg of Vailen's Zaber Fang for a second before disappearing again, "I thought you and I had a deal, no one touches my König but you and me. What were they doing Razor?"
"I couldn't say, I didn't tell them to do anything," Razor replied, his anger now directed to the mechanics of his crew.
"And I don't buy that for a second. My König scares the hell out of those two, why would they go near her without orders?"
"I don't know, but I can say this, they won't do it twice if they come back."
"We've got a training session in about an hour right?" the blue eyed young man asked trying to divert the older man's attention, "Let's do live fire distance for a change," he added after a quick nod from Razor.
"Sounds like you want to blow off some steam, alright I'll get the Zoids loaded, you go find Tango or Lemur and ask them to set the range for us."
Wolf gave a loose salute before he headed to the small arms range inside the underground base. As he went around the last corner he ran head long into Melody. He quickly helped the brown haired young woman up and helped her pick up the items she dropped.
"Looking for Tango and Lemur?" she asked as she steadied the papers and packages in her arms.
"Yeah, they still in the small arms range?" the black haired young man asked in reply with a smile.
"Nope, last I saw they were headed towards the kitchen after I delivered some homemade cookies," Melody replied with a giggle, "They'll be hunting a hiding place they can both get to so sneak a peek first then announce yourself if you want any of those cookies."
The brown haired woman went on her way without reply or further word as Wolf found himself watching her walk towards the hanger. When Wolf finally found the two cousins they appeared to be guarding a not so well hidden box on the counter.
"I'm not here for the cookies, Razor asked me to find you, we need the long distance range set up for training this afternoon, this business with those two mechanics and my wolf has us both a little on edge," Wolf said with a chuckle when both men's eyes shot open in panic, "I'll give you one minute to hide those things before I call the boss and let him know I found you," he added with a chuckle.
"Wolf you've got to be the greatest Rookie ever!" Lemur, a man in his mid twenties with a deep tan and black hair, replied with a wide grin as the younger man left the room.
About a half an hour later Wolf's black on red König Wolf was standing on a high dune next to Razor's black and white Zaber Fang while their pilots awaited the all clear. The goggles on the König were down while its pilot watched the targets being set up at the other end of the range.
"Ten targets, you've got twenty shots, it had better not take all of those," Razor's voice came through a voice only link just after the 'all clear' signal was given.
The König's sniper rifles slammed into place and fired off ten shots in rapid succession before the rifles went back to their stowed position. A split second after the guns closed again, Razor watched the ten targets down range go up in blasts of sand that looked a series of explosives set to timers.
"All targets down Boss, who shot that?" Lemur's voice played through the radio.
"That would be the Rookie," Razor replied with an impressed tone, "Set em up to move this time boys."
The König's rifles fell back into the open position and the goggles remained down, Razor could just make out the optics moving in them as he moved his Zaber Fang in front of the König.
"Hey, no fair, blocking close view makes a shot impossible at any distance," Wolf said faking a complaining tone very well.
"I wanted to talk a second before you shoot these targets," the blonde replied with a chuckle of his own, "How did you do that just now?"
"Practice on a set of ruins near home, Blaze and I set the scope on this thing using a set of broken windows when I was ten, I'd been shooting those same windows for target practice every few days up till I left," the blue eyed young man replied honestly.
"Well, you're going to have all the time in the world to hit these, so take it, we're all alone in this desert, no worries."
"I had Blaze for a practice target, granted he's still here so I guess I will."
The König shifted its footing to a wider stance and lowered its head just a fraction as the Zaber stepped out of its line of fire. Wolf picked a target to follow, the only sign outside the Zoid was the twin barrel rifle pivoting along its ninety degree range of fire. The first shot hit the first target's outside edge but the second nailed it dead on to Razor's shock. The rest of Wolf's ammo never touched anything but sand and rock to the black haired young man's disappointment.
"How's Rookie doing on the other ranges?" Razor asked Tango and Lemur as they all watched the black on red König walking back to base.
"Welp, his long distance shooting with a sniper rifle is decent but getting better, his hand gun skills aren't quite as good but he's got potential, more a matter of practice time at this point," Lemur replied with a rare serious tone, "He seems more comfortable at a distance though."
"He's got no trouble with his emotions, practically wears them on his sleeve in fact, seems to be fitting in with the other members fairly well," Tango, a man with three red stripes running down the sides of his head in his black hair, added with a serious tone as well, "Melody and Luna seem to like him, Tango and I love the kid's sense of humor, Vanessa and the other foxes not so much though."
"Reasons?"
"Vanessa is pissed that he figured out you and her were together, also seems to think his attitude could be a little more friendly, other than that he's okay by her," Tango replied instead of his cousin, "Sarah Beth just seems to think he's a smart ass after that kiss to the cheek in the hanger and a few other playful maneuvers in more recent training sessions."
"Tammy just doesn't like the idea of yet another boy in the crew, very strong minded that girl," Lemur finished with a chuckle.
"What about Hawk?"
"Hates the kid, he's pissed that Wolf out scored him in less than half the time on the rifle range first try," the man with red streaked hair replied with a chuckle, "Also thinks he's been trying to horn in on Luna."
"Luna, really?"
"You know Hawk, in love with all the wrong girls."
"Your names?" Razor said with the same dead serious tone.
"Tango and Lemur," Tango replied with a chuckle, "Nice effort though boss."
"Had to try, go ransack that box of cookies," The blonde said with a chuckle just before the cousins took off towards the kitchen.
*The foxes and Vanessa are on their way back, expected time of arrival at the village is two hours,* a bright green Organoid growled as the blonde inspected his black and white Zaber Fang.
"Thanks Tyrant, where is Vailen hiding out today?"
*Not sure, I opted to stay with his Zaber while it's being refitted,* Tyrant replied with a shrug of his mechanical arms, *Hawk just asked I relay the message.*
"Is it just me or has he been spending a lot more time in the village of late?"
*His check ins have become a little less frequent as well,* the bright green Organoid replied, *Perhaps an investigation is in order?*
"Yeah, I'm gonna head into town tell the mayor about the new hand, I'll check on him while I'm there," Razor answered with a resigned tone.
Wolf was on the other end of the base in the small arms range with Tango and Lemur when the fox sisters and Vanessa got back to base. Melody nearly took the door off its frame out of excitement; she ended up with Tango and Lemur's firearms pointed at her feet before she could blink. The three older people were shocked to see Wolf had kept his aim down range despite his eyes locking with the brown haired young woman's.
"Either you've got excellent peripherals Wolf, or you're not used to having to keep your guard up," Lemur said as the three men cleared their weapons and put them away.
"Could be Rookie just doesn't like looking a target in the face," Tango joked as he and Wolf waited for Lemur to lock the racks and close up the ammo safe.
"Could be I don't like pointing deadly weapons at people, friend or foe," Wolf replied with a serious tone, "My instinct is fists first, no guns back home, no need for them."
"And yet he can out shoot our top rifleman without thinking," Lemur said with a disbelieving tone as they all headed for the hanger.
"Natural talent with a long range shot aside, I can understand not liking to point the things at people," Tango jumped in with a more serious tone, "Especially since that's how we taught him," he added with a laugh.
"I swear if you two don't knock off this talking like I'm not standing here bit you've got going, I'll put you both to my König," Wolf said with a joking tone.
"Did you hear something Tango? Sounded like a whine maybe?"
Wolf just laughed it off and walked away as the cousins 'inspected' the hall looking for some imaginary thing. When he got to the hanger everyone in the Trazen crew, minus Tango and Lemur, was standing around Vanessa's Heldigunner. He stepped up between Melody and Hawk with a small smirk on his face when the red haired man scowled at him and moved away.
"Thought you didn't like him?" Wolf whispered as he folded his arms across his chest.
"I don't, but I can't help where he wants to stand," Melody replied in an equally hushed tone, "Besides, he's harmless, just a sore loser at some things."
"Alright, start with the Heldigunner, then we'll deal with the foxes," Razor's voice interrupted before Wolf could agree, "Wolf, you've got training with the sisters, don't worry Melody will be fine."
The black haired man raised an eyebrow and looked to his left at Melody who shrugged and went to help unload the supplies the village let them keep and the fresh produce some of the villagers grew. Wolf simply followed the blue haired sisters towards what was basically an overflow storage area to spar a bit with Luna and Tammy in a two versus one scenario they'd cooked up during their time out. It hadn't taken the three days he'd actually worked with them before they left to figure out that Luna was the best fighter of the three sisters, it had however taken him a couple rounds with Tammy to find out she didn't play fair like her sisters.
"Let me ask you something," Wolf said while he was fending the two women off, "Melody said you three fight like wild cats when you need to, why are you holding back now?"
"Don't get cocky Rookie," Luna shot back as she launched a series of hooks and jabs.
Wolf shunted each hit to the side, guiding one of the hooks straight into one of Tammy's kicks forcing the youngest sister off balance. In the split second Luna hesitated to see if Tammy fell or not Wolf grabbed her by the arm and gave her a quick jab in the chest and poked her nose with his index finger.
"You're insane you know that right?" Sarah Beth called from the side lines.
"It's a popular theory, but that's disabling blows, in a real fight she wouldn't be able to breathe because of broken ribs and a broken nose."
"He's right, I hesitated, I'm out of this round," Luna said extending a hand to Wolf, "Tammy would be too."
The youngest of the sisters went to look down out of confusion and felt the training baton against her chin and went wide eyed. Wolf gave her a smile and a wink before pulling the baton away from her neck.
"How didn't I see that?" Tammy asked with more shock than anger in her tone.
"Don't know, but if you had fallen it probably would have worked out better in the long run," Sarah Beth replied with a small chuckle, "It's starting to look like this crew has a new best fighter Luna."
"Hey, I'm learning loads from you ladies, I'm all defense," Wolf said shaking his head quickly.
"Yeah, but you just took out two of the three best in one offensive set," the oldest sister said with a serious tone, "Luna is the best here for that matter."
"I guess this is what comes of being bullied for more years than one wants to count," the black haired young man replied with a shrug, "Look, I'm not after the title, and there are so many 'what ifs' in this fight I'll let you keep it."
"Don't let Hawk hear you say that," Razor's voice said from the doorway, "He already hates you for not taking his rifle shot title properly."
"He out shot me three times after that first round, it's not like he didn't take it back," Wolf shot angrily as he headed towards the boss, his eyes shifting back and forth between blue and red.
"Don't take that out on me Rookie, I'm just telling you why he doesn't like you," the blonde replied with a chuckle.
Wolf gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and took a breath, stretching his neck a little as he did, when his eyes opened again they were his usual sapphire blues. He nodded to the older man and left the room headed towards his room and the shower within.
"How'd he fair?" Razor asked once the younger man was out of earshot.
"Took Luna and Tammy in three offensive strikes, I don't know who taught him to fight, but he's got a few military techniques in his repertoire," Sarah Beth replied calmly, "Weird part is, he's blending styles from the Republic and the Empire, he can't possibly know or he wouldn't use them so freely here for fear of us thinking he's military."
"How could he not know his own fighting style?"
"Easy, the person or people who taught him didn't tell him where they learned it," Luna replied with a matter of fact tone, "That's assuming he was taught by someone and didn't just pick it up in one of those bully fights he talks about."
Wolf stepped out of his private bathroom in a cloud of steam, tripping over Blaze's curled up body as he headed for the closet for a clean shirt.
"Would you please find a better place to sleep," the black haired young man said with a chuckle as he gently kicked the Organoid between his boosters.
*If you get a bigger room we won't have this problem anymore,* Blaze growled without moving, *Besides, I've got a straight shot at any unexpected guests from here.*
Wolf was about to reply when the door cracked open and Blaze was on his feet with his head against the door, leaving a small impact dent in the door itself, before he could think.
"Blaze, unexpected yes, over kill and slightly early, also yes," the blue eyed young man sighed as he shoved the Organoid away from the door, "Who is it?"
"It's Melody, I came to check on you like I said I would after a training session," the brown haired young woman's voice came from the other side.
Wolf, forgetting he was shirtless, opened the door to let her in. Melody turned eight shades of red and immediately averted her gaze to the floor and stepped in. It wasn't until the young woman was sitting at his desk, cheeks still burning red, that the younger man realized he was shirtless.
"Sorry, if I'd known it was you I'd have left Blaze as the doorstop till I had a shirt," He said as he moved to the small closet.
"I-It's o-okay, just wasn't really expecting it is all," Melody stammered trying to keep her eyes on the floor rather than Wolf's well toned muscles and the long faint scar that lined up with the one across his right eye.
"Well you can look up now either way," Wolf said with a warm tone, "And it's nothing to be worried about, I know what I look like, I got used to gawkers when I was eleven and I don't bite medics when they touch," he added with a chuckle.
"Are you feeling okay after your sparing session?" the brown haired young woman asked changing the subject when she saw he was wearing his lightweight grey tunic.
They spent the next few minutes talking before Razor called them both down to the hanger and had them mount up for a run into town. As they walked around Wolf understood why the Trazens would want to help these people in any way possible. The people were friendly but the black haired young man could tell most of them had nothing to offer, he was reminded of home, money had little meaning, everything was done on trade. Razor showed him how the Imperial Republic border ran right down the village's main thoroughfare and how most of the produce farms were only big enough to feed maybe a family per season.
"These people get no help, the regimes won't acknowledge a place that has both Imperials and Republicans living peacefully, problem with that is, most of these folk have no idea the two sides are at war, some of the children aren't even told they're on the border at all." Razor said as soon as they were back at the Zoids, "We get them everything, meds, food, even building materials if a storm takes something out."
"I'm all for that," Wolf replied with a solemn tone before he climbed into his König's cockpit.
Once they were on their way back the black haired man opened a private link to the blue and red Pteras flying over head.
"Melody, I have to ask, how did you get here?" Wolf asked quietly.
"I was running away from home, my mother died, my stepfather was a jerk and probably crazy to boot, so I stole his Pteras and booked," the brown haired young woman replied with a sad tone, "Luna and Tammy stumbled into my camp one night and I guess I followed them home. What about you? Why were you out so far in the desert by yourself?"
"My village elders thought I'd caused enough trouble for them, asked me to leave when I took out a crew that hit the place," the black haired man replied with a chuckle, "Of course after I did it a second time they begged me to stay, didn't listen."
"Well they must have been lousy pilots to be fought off by a fourteen year old," Melody replied with a giggle.
"They were idiots, started shooting and stopped moving," Wolf replied with a laugh.