THIRTEEN
SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR
New Helic City,
Helic Republic, Delpoi Continent,
Planet Zi,
September 3, ZAC 2121
With Aspencade under construction, all military activity shifted back to New Helic Republic. The grand white building turned into a busy hub for activities from training new recruits, piling up logistics and parts, mobilizing zoids, repair works, command center, intelligence, and dozens more works usually spread across the continent on fortresses. Various tents and emergency bunkers were erected to accommodate these needs.
Although hectic, the return to New Helic City was a blessing for Saskia. She didn't have to spend hours of driving between Aspencade and the gunsmith at New Helic City. She could sneak out of the base after hours to do her part of the bargain with the blacksmith: upgrading the blacksmith's Godos to pay off the armor pieces for the Gilvader. This expedited the process since the upgraded Godos were able to accelerate the manufacturing of the armor pieces. What approximated as 3-month deal wrapped up as less-than-a-month job for both parties.
Both Saskia and the blacksmith's CEO were ecstatic with the progress.
"As agreed, the last Godos has been upgraded to full military specs," Saskia handed in the rundown of performance improvement of the zoids to the blacksmith CEO. "First is the output setting of the core. It was set up at 65% nominal, normal for civilian zoids. About 95% of this power output goes to the drive train, so your Godos were only 10% slower than military Godos. But the weapon power outlets were severely choked from power, so even though you install typical Godos weapons, you would have a weaker weapon platform than military version. This is just a precaution so when you decide to arm your zoids, the military still have considerable advantage over you.
"I tuned up your cores to nominal output and rerouted the power outlet to 70% drive train and 25% strength. You will notice considerable improvement on speed and lifting capability. Your zoids are now specifically tuned up to do manufacturing duties with militaristic performance. Of course I only left 5% power for weapon outlets, so you still can't install weapons other than a couple of machine guns at best. It's just standard operating procedure."
"I must say I am impressed by your professionalism, Miss Saskia," the CEO nodded in satisfaction as he read the specs. "We already see big numbers in our gross revenue because the Godos can handle bigger loads. Everybody's happy with the improvements."
"Then I hope I have the same treatment from you as you get from me," Saskia said.
The CEO smirked. "You don't have to worry about it, Miss Saskia. I am a man of my word, and I stand behind my products. You armor platings are being loaded on a truck. I personally supervised the manufacturing of the platings. They are made from the best grade material that we have, in the state-of-the-art manufacturing procedures available, and the best fit and finish process we can muster. Your zoid will have protection even from the strongest weapons available on Zi. However, you have to be careful, my young friend. We are at a high-alert situation, and this kind of product can raise a red flag in Helic Military security council."
"I know," Saskia grinned. "You don't have to worry about it. If something happens to me, you and your factory will not be harmed in any way."
"Good. That's the warranty I need to hear."
"Then this will seal the deal," Saskia pulled out her card. "It has enough money to cover a quarter of the entire production cost of the armor platings, just as agreed."
"Very well," the CEO took the card. "It'll be just a second and you'll be on your way."
The downside of moving back to New Helic City was now Saskia had to drive to the Gilvader site. A small jeep, like she usually drove, wouldn't get attention. A large truck full of high-quality armor platings wouldn't be so invisible. The worst part was she had to drive the truck alone, without escort, through an open space. There was only desert between New Helic City and Aspencade Fortress. She would be a sitting duck for bandits, pirates, and the Guardian Force patrol.
So she decided to use the night as her cover. She wondered if it was wise to travel in the dark since some crooks also like to prowl their victims at night. But at least the black-painted armor plating blended well with the darkness, so less people would be suspecting. That was exactly what she needed.
The trip turned out to be a quiet cruise through the desert. Only the sound of the engine accompanied her in a long, dull stride. While it didn't make an interesting journey, it gave her a chance to think about her life, how she wanted it to be and how it went so far. Funny how everything worked out. She was nowhere near her childhood dream as a Helic Republic zoid pilot, but working as a zoid technician gave her a different perspective about the organic-machines. She felt attached to the zoids, more like their veterinarian rather than their master, something she might not be able to do as a zoid pilot.
All being said, she wondered what her father would think of her situation now. She knew her father didn't push her to be a pilot, but which father wasn't proud if his daughter succeeded him? That was the basis of her obsession to go to the military and be a flying zoid pilot. She wanted to make her father proud. The question was, would her father be proud of her being a mechanic? Would he be just as proud to see her with honed technical skill? Would he be just as proud knowing what she took behind-the-scene role rather than the much-glorified but oft-deadly front-line soldiers?
Saskia might not know the answer.
"I am sorry Father, I don't mean to let you down," she whispered solemnly under the roaring sound of the truck. "I guess I'm just not as good as you. Zoids like me to handle their parts, but hate me inside their cockpits. Looks like I'm better fit on the ground, away from the cockpit. I think I'm doing good as a tech, though. Learnt a lot about how things work around the core. Learnt about weapons, too. If you were still around, I could be your personal mechanic. I can upgrade your Pteras to be the strongest, fastest Pteras ever.
"And guess what, I'm fixing this monster zoid, an ancient dragon I found on an abandoned cave. It can fly, Father, and it's the fastest flying zoid, like… ever. I'm trying to make if fly again. It's a long shot, and it may never work, but if it does… Father, you have no idea how it will fly…"
Alas, the trip never meant to see the end. From the corner of her eyes Saskia saw a fast shadow zoomed on her right side. It was big, zoid-sized big, probably between 30 to 50 tons. Adrenaline surged into her veins. She quickly turned the truck to the right, trying to catch that shadow with her headlights, but it was gone. But then it was on her left. She turned left and stuck her head out the window, trying to get a good glimpse of what was following her. She saw nothing. It kept shifting left and right, keeping her guessing. Her guess was that it was a Lightning Saix since she didn't know any other zoid that could move that fast.
And then, her nightmare came true. A crack reverberated in the distance, then her tires blew off. The entire truck quaked and swayed. Saskia grimaced, gripping and holding the steering wheel as hard as she could to keep the truck steady. But the loss of her rear left tires almost toppled the 18-wheeler, and it took her everything she got to keep the truck rolling.
The shadows – two of them – sandwiched the truck in a high-speed chase. The one on her left was a quadruped which galloped with such an awkward gait since its fore hinds were much longer than its aft ones. Various missiles were obvious even in the dark night. The one on her right was a biped, easily identifiable as either a Gun Sniper or Rev Raptor, with enormous amount of modular weaponries on its sides.
Saskia knew she had no chance to escape.
The zoid on the left barked its cannon, and all tires on her left exploded. The truck tipped over in an instance. Saskia did everything she could to hold the truck, but there was so much she could do. The truck capsized, spilling the Gilvader armor plates all over the desert.
For some time Saskia stayed in the truck until she regained full consciousness, then climbed out to meet her attacker. The truck's headlight illuminated the attackers, and she was aghast to see them. She was right about the Gun Sniper, but it was not just a Gun Sniper. It was a Gun Sniper Wild Weasel, with assorted missile launchers, gatling cannons, and radar all over its body. The other one was a Hammer Rock, a gorilla-type zoid with a close proximity to the venerable Iron Kong. This one, too, was heavily modified with smorgasbord of missiles.
"Looky looky, a girl!" the Hammer Rock pilot taunted from its external speaker. "What a dimwitted idea for a girl to travel alone, at night, without the cover of zoids!"
"Not so dimwitted for us," the Gun Sniper pilot replied.
"Not so dimwitted for… hey, take a look at these goodies!" the Hammer Rock turned around and inspected the Gilvader armor plates sprawled in the desert. The metal gorilla tried to pick up a piece of armor, but even for the zoid it was too heavy. "Santa Maria! What the hell is this?"
"Who are you?" the Gun Sniper trained all weapons at Saskia. "What are you carrying?"
Saskia remained silent.
"These are not typical Helic zoid parts! She's on a spooky mission! Let's get the hell out of here before we get into trouble!"
"No! No! Wait!" the Gun Sniper turned to inspect the Gilvader armor. "These could worth millions."
"It's not worth our lives, man!"
"We'll squeeze her for information then we'll decide what to do with those!" the Gun Sniper came back at Saskia. "Face on the ground! Now!"
Saskia didn't have a choice. She lied down on the ground and spread her arms and legs. That was when somebody put a bag over her head.