Title: The One That Got Away
Episode 3 - If I give you a preview it'll spoil part of the chapter.
A/N: Well, I've never gotten so many reviews per chapter, ever. Not even close. I was going to hold off a little longer on this chapter. Because of all the reviews I decided to post it early. The next chapter should be up in two weeks.
Bit Cloud milled about the patrons of Porter's shop. A fair number of people for early afternoon. Then again, what did he know? He could call a Beam Gun from a Linear Laser Gun from a Beam Launcher at two kilometers. But he had no idea when desk jockeys liked to go part shopping. He glanced over the available stock as best he could without being in anyone's way.
Most of the inventory, at least what he remembered, hadn't changed. The Double Barrel Rifle stood in the same corner. The Sonic Cannon was gone, sold or moved, who could tell? A set of Wing Swords were new. The two curved wing blades flanked a single straight edged top blade. Beside them, hung a familiar pair of Laser Blades…
Still there, still the same price. A month of scavenging or a couple battles and he could buy them. If they were still there he could try negotiating the price down. Try being the operative word. Liger parts were so rare. Ligers were so rare. They weren't Gun Snipers or Command Wolves. Porter wasn't going to budge. Either way, he'd have to adapt the mounts, rework the armor. No problem. It was just…
To his left, the Wing Swords gleamed, likely freshly polished. Maybe they were newly built or maybe Porter was hiding a broken down Storm Sworder out back. Didn't matter. The design just worked, felt right. Aligning the swords to the front edge of the wings, slicing through enemy zoids as the Storm Sworder arced gracefully through the air.
Whose idea was it to mount blades to a Liger mid chassis? There had to be better way. Bit sighed. He was junker, not an inventor. Whoever came up with it, had their reasons, and were a lot smarter than him.
"Bit Cloud?" Porter walked up to him, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He extended a hand. "I'm Porter, the-"
"We've met before." Bit shook the man's hand, hiding a grimace as the older man squeezed. Porter was no stranger to hard work.
"Right." The shop owner didn't bat an eye. "Selling a Triple Barrel Shock Cannon, two Ion Chargers… And you ordered a 108mm High Density Beam Gun for a," he glanced at the data pad, "Liger Zero?" Porter held the data pad out to him. "Never heard of one of those." Porter waved to a young man with a pallet jack, carrying a single wooden crate.
Bit took the data pad and signed off on the transaction. Porter drove a hard bargain, did not like to overpay for used parts. Oh well, when it was all said and done, he'd walk away with the new tail gun and some credits in his pocket. "You sold me a Triple Barreled Plasma Cannon for it a couple weeks ago."
"Heh? Really? For a ground zoid?" Porter scratched the white whiskers on his cheek. "How's it working out for you?"
Great for him, not so great for the last Sabre Tiger who'd lost a Shock Cannon. "Not bad."
"Glad to hear it. This is a little more run of the mill." Porter gestured to the approaching employee. "Sure as hell make 'em think twice about running up behind your Hellcat."
"Liger Zero…"
Porter slapped him on the shoulder. "Take care!" Then the older man was on his way back to the front of the shop.
Bit, never one to sweat the small stuff, just shrugged his shoulders. He helped the clerk load the Beam Gun into the back of his truck. It was heavier than expected. Then again, everything on an 80 ton zoid was heavy.
It was a long and boring drive back to the Blitz team's base. Nothing new, he was comfortable with it, plodding along in a rattling old truck. At least, he used to be. It wasn't the silence. The radio had been broken for months and he'd never thought twice about it. Bit sighed. The truck was just empty. With a turn of the steering wheel, he left the main road. The truck did as he wanted, rolling smoothly over the dirt road. The steering wheel didn't make his fingertips tingle. He couldn't feel the sand under their feet as they raced across the desert. As soon as he got the new gun installed he'd take the Liger out for a run.
The base came into view, first the hanger and then the main compound. Bit grinned, opening up the throttle just a-
A Darkhorn, armed with a Gatling Rifle and a Beam Launcher, stood outside. It towered over his truck as he passed it and pulled into the hanger. Hopefully, Harry was in a better mood than last time.
Harry was in the center of the hanger, talking to Leena, or trying to. Her back was to him, arms crossed over her chest.
Jamie stood on a lift, working on the Dibison. One of its missile pods sat on the ground beside it. The buyer must not have paid for the ordinance. Such a waste. An hour alone with that zoid and he'd have enough money to refit the Liger.
Bit stopped in front of the Liger's bay. "What's up Harry?" Harry didn't so much as glance at him, too busy trying to dart around to Leena's face.
"Harry just challenged us to another battle." Jamie called down from his perch.
Oh. Bit opened the back of his truck. He pulled the crate partially off the bed of the truck and froze. Bad idea. "Mind giving me a hand with this?" He grunted to the not-so-happy couple.
It was Jamie that helped, climbing down from the lift to grab the other end of the crate. "Got it."
"Thanks. Right over here." They shuffled their way to the Liger's bay and set the crate down. Bit turned back to Harry and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Harry. I wouldn't get any points." Harry didn't seem like a bad guy but he couldn't keep fighting the same opponents, especially lower ranked teams. Then again, there was always the money.
Harry whirled to face him. "Ha! Don't worry about that! I've got a new team and a powerful new mercenary on my side." The so-called prince marched across the hanger floor. He smirked. "You've heard of Jack Cisco."
"Who's Jack Cisco?" Bit dug a crowbar out of the side compartment of his truck. "And who's the new mercenary?" He wedged it underneath the lid of the crate.
"Jack Cisco is the mercenary!"
Bit leveraged the crowbar against all four sides of the lid before it sprung free. "Oh, why didn't you just say so?"
A vein on Harry's forehead started to pulse. The guy was way too tense. "That's exactly what I-"
"Ha!" Leena stormed toward them. "Jack Cisco or not, we'll take you on!"
Harry spun on his heel, turning to face the redhead. His eyes darted from her back to him. "Leena?"
"Two days and I'll have my new Gun Sniper." She planted both hands on her hips. "Prove you're a new man!"
He raised a fist toward the sky. "Just you wait Leena!" Harry ran back to his Darkhorn. He jumped into the cockpit. The zoid's head rose and his voice boomed through the speaker. "Two days! Then you'll see!" The ground trembled as the heavy zoid turned a tight circle and disappeared into the horizon.
All Bit could do was shrug his shoulders. The High Density beam gun sat in its crate. He stared up at the Liger Zero. "Got something for you partner, as promised." A low rumble shook the air, thrummed through the back of his skull pleasantly. Agreement. Amusement. Bit grinned. He ran a hand over the tail gun. Unlike the plasma cannon, it was designed for a Liger. Which meant a lot less work and getting to sleep at a reasonable hour.
"Hey Bit," Jamie was back on the lift, fiddling with the Dibison, "can you give me a hand pulling down the missile pods?"
Leena had left. Brad had never been around.
"Sure thing." He called back. Bit flashed the Liger Zero an apologetic smile. "Just a sec, couple hours at the most."
Two Days Later
Naomi stepped into the bathroom and peeled the sweat soaked clothing from her skin. The shower, like the bathroom, like the hotel room, was small and plain. At least it beat camping out or living out of her Gustav.
The life of a wandering zoid warrior wasn't all glamorous.
If nothing else, the hotel had an exercise room. A private garage would have been nice, nice to put down roots. For now, a hotel in Romio City worked well enough. It was convenient, what with her Gun Sniper getting refit close by.
Cleaned and primped, she changed into a dress rather than her piloting outfit. Helios was a popular restaurant, with civilians and zoid warriors alike, but it had a dress code. A great place to watch a match, with less testosterone than the most of the Zoid bars. The restaurant was filling up when she arrived. Luck was on her side. She checked in with the hostess and managed to snag a table outside of the bar area but with a good view of its screens. Naturally, all were tuned to the Zoid Battle Network.
A waitress set a glass of water in front of her. "Can I get you a lunch menu?"
"Just your desert menu and the wine list."
An image of a white Liger flashed across one of the screens. The Liger suddenly lurched to one side. A pair of fangs burst up from the desert floor. The Liger dug in its claws, sliding away. The Viper's body followed, rising into the sky. The would-be ambusher caught empty air. The Liger pounced, digging into the Viper's armor with its claws, its teeth. The two zoids rolled along the ground.
The image cut to a Pteras making an overly cautious strafing run on two Stealth Vipers. Firing from well beyond its range, it scored a lucky shot as it peppered the area. The Stealth Vipers rose onto their tails, turned to track the flyer. The Pteras was already in retreat before they could return fire. The Liger and the Command Wolf fanned out and made short work of the distracted zoids.
Barely a 30 second clip, not bad for a Class B team.
The Zoids Battle Network logo appeared. The image dissolved, revealing a pair of commentators sitting behind a desk.
The first anchor, a woman with blonde hair, smiled into the camera. "Today's next match is from Class B. We have the Blitz team against the Champ team."
"The Blitz have motivation on their side," her cohost, the retired zoid warrior Derek Yosen, added. The former Royal Cup Champion, five years into his retirement, graying slightly at the temples, he stared into the camera as easily as he stared down so many foes. "A win would advance them to Class A. If they can get passed the Champ team and their hired gun, Jack Cisco."
Jack Cisco, as hired guns went, he was arguably the best, hands down the most expensive.
"Let's see how the teams stack up." The blonde woman cut in.
Images of the Liger, the Command Wolf, and the joke of a Gun Sniper, appeared on the left of the screen, with their pilots names listed below. The Champ team was displayed on the right, fielding two Cannon Tortoises and a Lightning Saix.
"The story of the day is Jack Cisco." The female anchor continued. Indeed, the mercenary lead all warriors in points, by a wide margin. "With over 10 years of experience, known for his high speed combat style. He's a big addition to the Champ team."
The rosters disappeared, replaced by an aerial view of open and largely, flat terrain. The ground rushed up to meet the camera, as if it was a Judge Satellite falling out of the sky. Gimmicky but no one asked her. Three different angles of the battlefield flashed across the screens.
One of the feeds caught the Blitz team's snail shaped hover cargo, sitting at the edge of the field. The top bay doors were open, revealing their magnetic launcher.
"Should be a good match. Blitz team's won four straight." Someone piped up from the table behind her.
"That ends today." A gruff second voice countered.
A Command Wolf launched from the transport's upper deck. It touched down and slowly made its way forward. Brad Hunter. He'd taken out her very inexperienced teammates. Handsome, in an unkempt way.
The second speaker started up again. "Jack's never lost. Blitz team is in over their heads. I'll put down five large. Any takers?"
The Liger leapt from the launch catapult and charged across the battlefield. Bit Cloud was probably grinning.
"Done."
The transport's lower door opened and a ramp extended. The "Gun Sniper" ran down, trailing behind the Command Wolf. Far ahead of them, Bit brought the Liger to a stop. The white zoid threw its head back and roared. Bit was definitely grinning.
The feed zoomed out, revealing the three Blitz Team zoids standing in the middle of an empty desert. Almost empty, several hundred meters out, a lone Lightning Saix made its way toward them.
Interesting.
"Area scanned. Battlefield Setup." The Judge's artificial voice echoed through the restaurant.
The waitress returned with glass of wine and a decadent Chocolate Truffle brownie.
"The Champ Team VS The Blitz Team. Battle Mode 0982. Ready Fight!"
Naomi tore her eyes away from the dessert's moist depths as the ground erupted. Dirt and dust filled the air.
The Saix burst into motion, laser rifles firing.
The Gun Sniper took a hit, almost dead center. The Liger and Command Wolf returned fire. The Saix was long gone, circling out wide and away from the confused trio.
The shelling continued, raining across the battlefield, with no obvious target. Cisco brought the Saix around for another pass. The Saix fired, catching the Command Wolf in the flank. The Command Wolf stumbled and bounded away.
"I knew it. Jack's Saix is untouchable."
Toros emptied one of her missile pods. The Saix was long gone before the missiles slammed into the ground, kicking up more dirt and only adding to the confusion. New zoid, same deadweight… Naomi smirked. Her own Gun Sniper would be ready in a day. If Toros didn't wreck her zoid today, she'd do it for her in their duel. Easy money.
Cisco circled back in a wide arc, bringing-
The Liger shot forward. Even in mid stride, it fired a three shot burst from a plasma cannon mounted to its chest.
That was new, an interesting little setup. Naomi raised her wine glass to her lips. New weapon, mounted low on the body, firing as it ran. It paid to do your homework.
Cisco angled away from the Liger and the shots narrowly missed to his right. Then the Saix sped off. The Liger raced after it, firing as it went. Its boosters activated, for a second it gained on the slender Saix. Cisco responded, throwing the zoid into top gear and opening up the distance between them. Bit fired again, putting two shots on the Lightning Saix. Cisco easily veered away from the plasma bolts.
They left the rest of the Blitz team behind.
Another aerial bot found two Cannon Tortoises on the edge of the field. It zoomed in on their position while the first followed the two high speed zoids. The Tortoises stood less than a stone's throw apart. Their standard payloads were replaced with Large Bore Heavy Cannons. The recoil rocked their stalwart frames with every shot.
Bit continued to fire, volley after volley, without success. Some missed to the right of the Saix, others to the left, as Cisco made minor course adjustments.
"I told you. He's got nothing for Jack." The gruff voice gloated.
Cisco drifted left, forcing two plasma bolts to sail harmlessly by on his right. Two more bolts, on the right, missed by a wide margin as the Saix veered further left. Then two more and two more and two more, all to right.
Directly toward one of the Tortoises.
All six plasma bolts hammered into the lumbering zoid. The armored shell weathered the attack easily. The Heavy Cannon did not. Something blew out along its rails. The firing mechanism seized. The Liger bore down on it, putting six more bolts into the weapon. Smoke rose from the rear of the Heavy Cannon. A spark came off-
The explosion shook the Tortoise, cracked its armored frame, and left it holding the smoldering wreckage of the cannon.
Someone at the bar hooted.
"Lucky break! Jack will get em."
Cisco was already angling the Saix back to the Liger but no zoid could turn a corner at that speed.
Bit slammed the brakes. The slower speed, the Liger's wider stance… It slid, digging its claws into the ground. It darted toward the remaining Tortoise, without using its boosters, moving slower, putting more shots on its target. The Tortoise managed to turn toward the Liger, offering it the smallest profile of its cannon. It was too slow to do much else and the cannon would never fire at a low enough angle to fight back.
Behind Bit, the Saix ate up the battlefield, zeroing in on the Liger.
The Liger's white mane expanded, golden light rolled off its head, along its claws. It closed in on the helpless Tortoise and leapt high into the air.
The Saix's laser cannons fired.
The boosters on the back of the Liger flared to life, pushing it forward, changing its trajectory, and dodging the laser fire as easily as he'd dodged her bullet.
Naomi sat back, crossing her arms over her stomach. She was done underestimating Bit Cloud.
The Liger sheared the Heavy Cannon in half and touched down on all fours.
"Then there was one!" The first voice.
"Jack will get him." The other grumbled.
But Jack Cisco didn't get him.
The Liger pivoted sharply. Cisco passed within 20 meters and didn't fire a shot, couldn't fire around the wrecked Tortoise. The Liger charged down the battlefield at full speed, away from the already turning Saix. Bit got four hundred meters ahead before Cisco completed the turn and threw the Saix into top gear, steadily closing on the white zoid.
It wouldn't be enough.
The room, full of seasoned zoid warriors, all in various levels of sobriety, grew quiet as the outcome went from likely to inevitable.
Bit kept the Liger moving erratically, firing on the approaching Saix with a tail mounted beam gun. The shots went wide, had no chance of hitting the skilled mercenary. It so clearly wasn't the point. A Saix had a very limited firing range, less than 10 degrees off dead center. Cisco fought to line up his shot, to match the Liger's movements, to evade the incoming fire.
On the aerial view the Command Wolf and Gun Sniper rushed to meet the Liger.
Cisco wouldn't take the Liger in time. Bit would break toward his teammates, pass in front of their line of fire. Cisco would follow and get picked off.
Indeed, the Command Wolf came to a stop, widened its stance. The long range cannon shifted down, lowering its firing angle.
The ground exploded in front of the Liger. It lurched to one side and leapt over the crater. A second missile crashed down behind it. A third slammed into the Liger's flank. It stumbled, lost its footing-
The Gun Sniper, well in the rear. All its missile pods were open. A second volley of missiles soared through the air. The idiot dumped her entire payload, peppering the battlefield, with no regard for friend or foe or teammate. Through the smoke and the dirt, the white zoid tumbled, end over end.
Someone gave a long whistle. "Talk about unfriendly fire!"
Ass.
When the barrage finally ended, the Liger lay on its side, its armor battered, blackened, or missing. Smoke rose from the downed zoid.
"Winner! The Blitz Team!" The Judge declared.
The Saix was down, from what she couldn't say. The feed cut to the battle report and the point distribution. The Liger was at the top, credited for taking out both Tortoises. The Command Wolf was second, for the Saix. Toros' Gun Sniper was third, with zero points.
"Too bad teammates don't count!" The same drunk, flipping through a stack of cash. He caught her gaze and flashed her a smile. Naomi turned away before he got the wrong idea.
The battle report disappeared from the screen, replaced by the ZBC logo. The logo dissolved, revealing the network hosts behind their desk.
"Ouch. Talk about unfriendly fire!" The blonde ditz remarked. Her cohost, Yosen, gave her a blank look. She gave a fake laugh then cleared her throat. "We certainly hope there are no serious injuries."
"Absolutely." Yosen faced the camera. "It's been a rough start to the season. Only two months in and as many deaths. This is why the Zoid Battle Commission stresses the importance of observing all-"
The ZBC logo flashed across the screen. A Hellcat... or a Sabre fired on something. At those speeds, bouncing around inside the cockpit- Zoid battles were dangerous. Everyone knew that. More so when your own teammates attacked you. Naomi reached for her wine glass, her mouth suddenly dry.
A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed. I really appreciate constructive criticism. (Suggesting I rewrite the story with a different couple isn't really constructive.) The story definitely needs some tweaking. Several people pointed out there were mistakes. First off, yes there are mistakes. I'm working on them. Thanks to Gundam Wing Zero for pointing me to some better source material and providing specific information. Second, none of the characters have perfect information. Don't take what they say or think as gospel. At this point, no one on the planet knows the Liger Zero is an Ultimate X. Everyone just writes it off as a variation on the Shield or Blade Liger models. Any thoughts on the combat? Did Naomi's PoV feel genuine?