Zoids: Rebirth Century
By Darkened Storm
Summary:
It's been three years since Van defeated the Hiltz and the Death Saurer and the people of Zi have experienced a moments' peace. But when Rudolf is the subject of an assassination attempt, the Guardian Force uncover a deadly plot to destroy both nations.
Chapter Three: The Assignment
It was well past midnight when at the Red River Base so, understandably, Fiona was quite surprised to find Van with Zeke in the hanger bay, the disassembled parts of the Liger's attack boosters spread out on the floor in front of them.
Van and Zeke weren't the only ones up late though. Steph was perched on a large crate beside the Liger, an instruction manual open on her lap. Her organoid, Storm, had curled itself up on the floor beside her and was apparently asleep. Another girl lounged in a chair beside a computer terminal. She was Rebecca Carter, Steph's younger cousin and one of Colonel Herman's newest recruits.
"Doesn't anybody sleep around here?" the ancient zoidian girl asked.
Steph smiled at Fiona as she approached. "Apparently not," she said, flipping a page of the manual. "Okay Van, you need to reattach the stabilisers next."
"Got it," Van said, reattaching the stabiliser to the booster Zeke was holding. When the part was in place, he tightened the bolts with a wrench. "Hold still, Zeke," Van instructed the impatient organoid as he tested the strength of the bolt.
Zeke grumbled something unintelligible that sounded to Van much like a complaint, but the organoid held still and Van secured the part in place.
"What are you all working on so late?" Fiona inquired.
"They're modifying the attack boosters on Van's Blade Liger," Becky told her.
"At this hour?" Fiona asked, watching as Van reattached the second stabiliser and tightened the bolt.
"When Van noticed that the Liger was running a little sluggish, he wanted to get started right away," Steph explained.
Fiona turned to Van, placing her hands on her hips. "You couldn't wait until tomorrow?" she scolded.
Van grinned sheepishly. "A pilot is only ever as good as the equipment he uses. I can't expect to be at my best if the boosters aren't working properly."
"I've heard that before," Fiona said, shaking her head. The ancient zoidian girl had never known a zoid pilot more stubborn or hard headed than Van Flyheight.
Van grinned at her before looking to Steph. "So what now?"
"I'll tell you as soon as I figure it out myself," Steph said, frowning at the instruction manual, as though it had some personal vendetta against her.
Normally, Steph didn't mind playing mechanic on the odd occasion that something went wrong with one of the zoids, and she was quite good at it, most of the time. Unfortunately for her, this wasn't one of those occasions.
Becky pouted. "Everyone's celebrating and we're stuck in this dodgy old hanger bay," she said dismally. Van and Steph's decision to confine themselves in the chilled hanger when there was a celebration to be had seemed to go against Becky's fundamental work, rest and play policy.
"We'd get this done a lot quicker if you'd help us." Steph told her cousin. Becky merely stuck out her tongue in response.
From afar, the two girls looked strikingly similar. They both had the same round eyes and full cheeks and both girls had a single, star shaped mark below their left eye. But that was where the similarities ended. Becky, though younger, was the taller of the two, five-foot-four, with slender features, golden brown hair and honey brown eyes.
Becky had only begun her training a few months ago, but she was proving to be a very capable pilot of the Republic's newest zoid, the Liger Zero.
"Why does Doctor D always have to make his contraptions so darn difficult to work with," Steph muttered under her breath, flipping a page. None of the instructions the old man had provided her seemed to make much sense at all.
Becky rolled her eyes. "Oh, give it here," she said, snatching the instruction manual from his hands and flipping through the pages. "If we hurry up, there might be some food left over from the party."
"I wouldn't count on that, Carter," a new voice said.
Becky pouted. "Says who?" the blonde grumbled, turning around in her seat to get a look at the newcomer. Major O'Connell stood in the doorway to the hanger, wearing his famous 'no nonsense' expression.
"I hate to bother you all so late – "
"It's okay, it's not like we were sleeping or anything," Becky grumbled. O'Connell shot her a look and she clamped her mouth shut, allowing him to continue.
"We have a crisis situation," O' Connell said. "Colonel Herman has requested your presence in the briefing room at once," he told them.
"All of us?" Fiona inquired politely. O'Connell only nodded.
Van sighed, tossing aside the wrench. "I guess we'll finish this later," he said. "Come on Zeke," he called over his shoulder. His companions followed suit, Storm yawning loudly as she followed Steph towards the briefing room.
"What do you think's going on?" Becky whispered to her cousin.
"I dunno," Steph muttered, a foreboding feeling in her chest. "But it can't be good."
When they entered the briefing room however, they were surprised to find two familiar looking people already there.
"Moonbay! Irvine!" Fiona exclaimed happily.
The dark haired girl sitting at the table waved to them. "Hey there Fiona!" she said.
"What are you guys doing here?" Van wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow at the mercenary. "Irvine, shouldn't you be out winning prize money in a zoid tournament somewhere?" he asked. Irvine merely shrugged his shoulders.
Moonbay scowled. "Hi, Van," she said with an air of sarcasm. "Good to see you too."
Van could only stare in wonder at the friend he hadn't seen in over a year. Moonbay was just as he remembered her, yet different.
Fiona clamped her hand over Van's mouth and smiled at her friend. "It is good to see you, Moonbay," she said. "We weren't expecting visitors. Are you here to transport something for the Republican Army?"
Once upon a time, Moonbay had been the pilot for the Republic's Ultrasaurus. Since then, she'd gone back to her old ways as a transporter, earning her wages transporting goods between the two nations.
The dark haired girl shook her head and waved a finger. "Not exactly," Moonbay said. "I'm here on request."
"Request?" Steph repeated. "A request from who?"
"From me," Colonel Herman announced as he entered the conference room, followed by O'Connell. Without a word to his recruits, he joined them at the table. O'Connell stood behind him. "I'm glad you two could make it on such short notice."
"Glad to be here, Colonel," Moonbay said brightly. Irvine said nothing.
A curious expression crossed Steph's face as she sat down at the table. Storm curled up on the floor beside her with a yawn, folding her wings around her. "You asked Moonaby and Irvine to come here?" she asked. "Does this have anything to do with your meeting with Colonel Schubaltz earlier?"
"I'm afraid so, Steph," Rob said, his expression grim. "The colonel has requested our assistance to investigate a recent assassination attempt on Emperor Rudolf."
A collective gasp echoed throughout the room. Moonbay almost dropped her mug, spilling some of its contents over the table. Even Irvine was unable to keep a straight face. Of all the things they could have possible expected, this was not one of them.
No one seemed to know what to say. Becky wasn't quite sure she had heard right, and made a mental note to check her ears later – just in case they had cotton wool in them.
Finally, Moonbay broke the silence. "Assassination?" she repeated as she mopped up the spilt coffee.
Fiona looked distressed. "But who would want to assassinate Rudolf? That's just so horrible," she said quietly.
"A letter was sent prior to the attempt," Herman told them. "It claimed that Prozen's loyal followers would rise up to retake the throne."
Irvine clenched his fists. "Prozen," he snarled. "I thought we got rid of him when Van destroyed the Deathsaurer."When the ultimate Deathsaurer had been destroyed, it had been assumed that Prozen, acting as its zoid core, had been destroyed as well.
"Prozen might be long dead," O'Connell said. "But his ideals were quite popular with many officers in the Imperial Army."
"So you're saying someone in the army is behind this," Moonbay guessed. Her knuckled turned white as she gripped her coffee mug in her hands. The nations had barely survived the battle with the Death Stinger and the Deathsaurer – the Empire couldn't possibly withstand a revolution from within its own military.
"We don't know who's behind this Moonbay," Herman told her regretfully. "That's why we're sending you in." He looked at Van and Steph in particular. "You two are the best pilots in the program, you both graduated top of your class in your respective years."
Steph fixed him with a weary stare. "It's not like you to ding us praises, Colonel," she said. "What's the catch?"
Herman smirked to himself. It was next to impossible to get anything past the young lieutenant. "The catch is we don't have military approval. If you choose to go on this mission, you go as members of the Guardian Force, but without the backing of the Republican Military."
"Whether the military supports us or not, I'm in," Van said. "Rudolf needs us." Zeke growled, and Van knew what his partner was thinking. "Zeke's in on this too," he said. "How bout you, Irvine?"
The mercenary chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so," he agreed. "But I'm no Guardian Force member, I'm doing this for Rudolf."
Herman nodded. "I'm sure we can handle that," he said.
"I'll come with you," Fiona volunteered. "Who knows what kind of trouble you get into without me," she added, looking fondly at Van, who only laughed.
"That's three volunteers," Herman said, turning to Steph. "Do we have a fourth?"
Steph remained silent for a moment, thinking carefully. The thought of going on a new mission did have a certain appeal to it. Still, she had a foreboding feeling about it. "What do you think, Storm?" she asked quietly. The lilac organoid growled softly. The message was all too clear – the organoid was eager, but Steph wasn't so sure.
O'Connell seemed to sense her hesitation. "This isn't an official order that's come down for Guardian Force HQ," he reminded her. "You don't have to – "
"No," Steph said, shaking her head. Storm was right. The mission would be dangerous, but they couldn't rely on anyone else to do it. "I'll do it."
Herman nodded proudly. "I knew I could count on you," he said. "Colonel Schubaltz and Lieutenant Schubaltz will be waiting for you at Guardian Force Headquarters in the Empire." He turned to Moonbay. "Moonbay, can I count on you to escort Van, Fiona and Steph to Ebony base with your Gustav?"
Moonbay nodded. "Do you even need to ask?" she said cheerfully. "I'll be glad to do it."
"Excellent," Herman said, turning to the last member of the Guardian Force. "Becky, I'm counting on you to coordinate the mission from here."
"Gotcha," Becky agreed. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Herman. I'll hold down the fort while these guys are gone."
"It'll take us a while to pack and get the zoids loaded onto the transporter," Moonbay said. "If I start now, I can be ready to leave at dawn."
Herman nodded. "It's settled then," he said. "The Guardian Force departs at dawn."
I wasn't particuarly happy with this chapter because I hit a writers block, hence the long wait, but I thought I'd update it now for you all , and I can just go back and rewrite it later.
And thanks soo much to all my reviewers.
til next time,
Darkened-Storm