It's still hot. Not like it was a moment ago, but… it wasn't what a human would call comfortable. As 'feeling' came back to my body I look around, taking stock of my surroundings. I'm still in the desert, like that would have changed, but now it's midday. I wracked my brain to remember what happened, and all I can remember was enough searing heat to roast a chicken next to me. Some explosions that I felt oddly proud of. In a rush as my systems started to come back online I remembered the abduction from… whenever it was that it happened.
A startled voice yelping gets my attention… on top of my head? I start to move around, looking around to see who was on me. I could feel the crowbar shifting as they held on, trying to keep on top of me and at the same time keep the crowbar wedged between the plates of my armor. They weren't very big, and it didn't take long to shake them off. They roll down my canopy, that is still weird for me to have at the moment, then fall the short, to me, distance to the sands where they hit with a poof of dust.
Looking at them, they were a woman in grubby clothes. Stuff meant to keep you alive in the desert heat. I thought about pinning them under a paw, but I still wasn't used to my body, and with one leg weighing at least forty tons, a mere human would be squashed in an instant so I thought better of it. The blonde looked up and seemed afraid but intrigued. "How are you moving alone?" she asks bewildered.
Truth be told, I didn't know how I moved on my own. I wasn't exactly the foremost expert on Zoid biology and mechanics, so I didn't think what happened to me was possible, much less how it happened. I wanted to say something, but I hadn't figured that part out yet. Instead, I turned away and trundled off, leaving her and her stealthed van to their own devices. She tried to follow, but on foot I easily outpace her. By the time she went back to the van my sensors picked up, I was long gone. Once again, I didn't know what was wanted from inside of me, but I wasn't going to give them much of a chance to poke around. Especially when I didn't know what it could do to my brain. ::Startup complete:: flashes across my HUD, drawing my attention as I walked. Missiles weren't even down one tenth capacity after the attack that brought down the Whale King. I still had almost all the shots from my Hybrid Cannon, and anything else not missile related was an energy based gun. Though there weren't very many of those. Hopefully I would be able to find a way to resupply myself before too long. I wouldn't be able to defend myself, and definitely not as spectacularly as before, forever. Not when most weapons systems required reload.
All that and more began to whirl through my head as I pondered my own existence for the second time in as many days. Would I need fuel? Did I have to sleep, or was that just when I overtaxed my systems? My speed stayed at an even 80 km/h, or for my new body a brisk walk. As usual I had no idea where I was going, but I wasn't going to stick around while some strange girl poked at me with a crowbar. I could sense the van doing its best to catch up to me, but on the uneven sands its tires didn't do so well. I hasten my steps to double my speed at a casual jog to avoid being drug into whatever nonsense she wanted. Not that I had many options laid out before me.
Three hours later I came upon what looked like a trading outpost of some kind. It didn't seem well defended, but then I noticed the Zoid mechanic near the center of town. And the Hovercargo. And hiding behind all that was a Whale King that was moored and keeping position just on the other side of town. Nevermind. This place had more defense than it needed. Not that I planned on causing trouble. I slowly enter the town and 'park' myself somewhere I think is inconspicuous. Namely close enough to the Hovercargo that anybody who saw me would assume I belonged to them.
In all honesty, I just wanted to rest. To stop thinking about what I had become, and constantly having somebody poke inside me wasn't the way to do it. I lock my actuators and go rigid as my brain and Zoid core go into a sort of standby mode. I dreamed for a while; battles that might have been, things from my old life half remembered but probably tinted by rose sunglasses.
I became briefly aware that somebody was attempting to climb me, but not who they were. Sensors said they were bigger than the woman before, so I didn't have to worry about her again. Not for a while anyways. "Stupid Zoid warriors just parking their junk wherever they want, I oughta give whoever's up there what for…" Uh oh. Chronometer said it was only an hour or so later this time. Guess I wouldn't be resting as long as I thought I was. He gets up to my cockpit and there's a moment of him studying the opaque visor that was my forehead. Looking around he can't find any kind of identifying marks of ownership for reasons obvious to me and spits to one side. "Freelance bums…" He presses the cockpit release and the canopy snaps open with a hiss and he climbs in. Pressing a few buttons a slot in the console opens up but the area inside is empty. "What the…? No owner…? Then how did you get here I wonder…"
The monitor before him that normally shows technical readouts and battle data winks on. "I walked," I say in answer through the text on the screen.
"Why are you in my town?" he questions further.
I mentally gulp as I continue. "I was traveling and looking for a place to stay. I thought I could rest here."
"Where did you come from?" His seething seemed placated for now, melting away and being replaced by curiosity at the novelty of a fully autonomous and sentient Zoid.
"I don't know. Far away is the only answer I can give," I answer honestly. It wasn't like I could gain anything by lying. There was no telling where the Whale King had taken me or how long I had been nonfunctioning, so I couldn't lie about it either.
"Then where are you going?" I paused for a long while. I didn't have an answer for this and it showed in a long series of dots across the screen. The man sighs wearily and rubs his fingers through his messy blonde hair. "Then you may as well stay here. I can at least make it so you don't have people bothering you and trying to take you for their own. Zoids don't stay unowned for long in these parts."
I wanted to say 'I know', but I didn't know if he was with those guys on the Whale King. "I accept," I say instead.
"Well then. You'll have to get registered as a Zoid Warrior then. Anybody who stays more or less permanently in my town has to pull their own weight. You don't work, you don't eat. Just be careful going around town. I'm Josh, and you'll be working with the Coalition Team. We're down a man after he quit last month, so you'll bring us back up to three." He climbs back out. "It'll take a day to get you registered. Enjoy the day off. Next time I see you, I'll have your Zoid Gear and you'll take part in a battle happening in two days." He drops down and heads off muttering something about getting himself into things he shouldn't.
Finally my actuators began to release after warming up and charging. 'You and me both,' I think to myself. A shimmer catches my eye to one side and I look at it, but there was nothing there. Sensors picked up nothing but slightly higher temperature. Heat shimmer maybe? I brush it off and start to walk away. As I leave I never even notice the shimmer return and follow after me.
