A lone Zoid soared through the skies over the barren desert, its bizarre yet sinister shape silhouetted against the rising sun behind it. The machine cruised at a high altitude, well out of the way of any airborne opponents its pilot expected to face. While she was confident of both her abilities and those of her new Zoid to defeat any that may challenge it, today she was not looking for a battle.
Inside the cockpit of her new Zoid, Levisha Towne carefully studied a map of the area. She was looking in particular for areas that were declared to be hazard zones due to left over weapons form the last war. There were many of these areas scattered across the Empire's eastern frontier, especially in the areas that had been a part of the Draken Empire, deadly artifacts of an ancient conflict. It was these weapons that had caught her interest, and the reason why she was out here.
Every conflict left its debris; unexploded ordinance, forgotten minefields, field engineering works that had been buried over, the bodies of men who had fallen and never been recovered and the like. These Zones contained one such thing in this case, unmanned Chimera Zoids that had been left to protect military outposts, then lost in the chaos that had been the last war. Some estimates said that there may still be dozens of them scattered across this frontier. Others said hundreds.
Either way, she would be happy with the outcome.
Her Lord Gale dived out of the sun, heading towards a rocky outcropping, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Several bunkers lay on top of it, at least two of which had fallen into ruin with age. None the less, she suspected that their guardians would be fully operational, their internal systems keeping them maintained and in operational condition, ready to attack any intruders.
"So lets see if this truly works." She said to herself as she pressed several buttons on the Zoid's command console. The green orb on the Lord Gale's forehead pulsed with light as it transmitted a signal across a wide area. As she approached the ruins, the sand around it began to shift as the Zoids buried under it awoke. Whether they were responding to her signal or to her presence was the real question. One way or another she would find out.
The first of the Zoids emerged from the sand, a bizzare looking creature with a squat torso, hunched back and massive arms that were as big as its body. The computer identified it as being a 'Shellkarn' and, more importantly, under her direct control. Other machines emerged from the desert around her. While the computer identified each, she knew what they were already. Flyscissors, Diploguns, Demonshead; a series of Zoids created by the Draken Empire to serve two roles.
Their use as sentries was a secondary purpose. Because they were unmanned, they could be left around some remote post and abandoned until needed. They would remain alert without needing to rest, and could be buried for extended periods with no ill effects. But their primary role was what she wanted them for.
The Chimera Zoids were terror weapons. Their unmanned nature gave them certain advantages over a human soldier. They knew no mercy, no compassion and no fear. Once unleashed, they would not stop fighting until either they or their enemy were destroyed. They had no qualms about attacking civilian targets; they would simply destroy whatever was in their path.
The Chimera Zoids approached her Zoid, either walking with their bizarre gaits or hovering towards it. They surrounded the Lord Gale, but didn't move against it. Her Zoid, eyeing the strange machines around it, let out a loud, gargling roar. The Chimeras responded with their own chorus of chirps, roars and bellows.
"Excellent." She said as she looked over their new found army. While the cache she had unearthed had provided the Claw with all manner of new Zoids, it was the Chimeras that she wanted the most. Not only would they allow the Claw to drastically expand their ranks, but it would also create a force within the claw that would be unquestionably loyal to her - and her alone.
"Levisha!" Bart called out over the communicator. "Did ya find what you were after?"
"Oh yes." She replied as she again looked over the bizarre Zoids. "I definitely did."
oOoOo
The Swarm
oOoOo
"Come on, Rayvenne." Jason began as he nudged her sleeping bag with his food. "Time to get up."
"Ah, I don't wanna." She muttered as she rolled over inside it. "Come on, Jase, stop being a tool."
"Now, Rayvenne." He continued, tapping his foot.
"Oh, all right." She muttered. "Just turn away. I ain't in a presentable state yet."
He shook his head and walked back to the rest of the camp where the others were. Only Rayvenne had decided to be a late riser, everyone else being already wide awake and dressed. "Hopeless, she is." He muttered as he walked over to the camp. "Just hopeless. I don;t know how she survived on her own."
"She lived in a secure underground cave." Althiea replied, looking up from her plate. "She didn't need to travel, unlike the rest of us."
"Yeah, yeah." He muttered. "So what's on the menu today?"
"Warmed up re-fried mush." Floyd replied, handing him a plate. "Eat it. Its good for you."
"Right." He sighed, then stuck his fork into the mess on the plate. Ravenne, her hair a mess, sat down next to him, scowling.
It had been a week since they had left Floyd's home in the wastes, all of which had been spent traveling across the countryside, looking for any signs of the Red Claw. At Floyd's suggestion, they had headed east towards the Eastern Expanse, the vast stretch of blasted terrain that had once been a part of the Draken Empire. His reasoning was simple. "If they're hiding anywhere, they're hiding there. The reason being that only a nut would go into a place like that And the Claw, well, as we've seen, they're nuttier ten my grandmother's extra-nuts fruitcake. Which, incidentally, is delicious."
On their other aim, to find out more about how Althiea had ended up with a head full of Hydra tech, Floyd had also recommended the Expanses. Apparently, the "clean up" after the war had been a lot less thorough, simply because so much of it was still contaminated and hazardous. While the hazards had decreased over time, most what was left over had been simply left to rot and decay. While Floyd couldn't guarantee anything, he figured that there may be more out there then there was towards the center of the Empire.
Traveling had presented a unique problem for them, however. Up until recently, they could maintain a low profile, hide Zoids under covers on the Gustav's trailer or pass off as random wanderers. The massive Iron Kong changed all that, however. The Zoid was far too large to hide and far too conspicuous to pass off as the property of a wanderer or similar; after all, it was capable of taking on and defeating anything that the Empire's forces fielded.
As a result, they'd had to skirt around the fringes of civilization, avoiding towns and other populated areas where possible. While it had helped minimize their exposure, it also drastically reduced their traveling speed. It also reduced their access to creature comforts like soft beds and good food.
"So what's the plan fer today?" Leanne asked as she finished off her breakfast. She seemed to be taking to their new, rougher life the best of the whole team. Althiea had wondered if it wasn't because this was more akin to how she was used to living.
"Well, funny you should say that." Floyd replied. "I know a guy who works for the Imperial Geology Office, so I was going to pop around to his place to see if I could rustle up a few maps of the area. Never know what a Geological Survey is gonna turn up." He grinned. "And there's nothing I like more then going out and getting Geological on something."
"So what about the rest of us?" Jason asked. "I guess that we're not going to have much to do at a rock lab."
"Well, funny you should mention that." Floyd replied. "There's a little place not to far south of here that might be of some interest. There's an abandoned quarry that once was home to a Hydra outpost. Now while most of what was there was demolished, y'all may find something interesting left behind. Heck, if I'm fast at the rock office, I'll come and join ya. Nothing I like more then a good ol' fossick."
"Wow. Digging for rocks. How fun." Rayvenne muttered.
"Are you sure about that, Floyd?" Althiea asked. "Isn't it a little, well, dangerous for you to travel alone? Even if it is just to some sort of research lab, I'm just worried about what may happen in between."
"Well, the wandering monster content of this district is pretty low." He replied. "Yet, your words do have a certain ring of wisdom to them." He looked over the group. "How about this, Rayvenne? If you find digging dirt to be a bit dull, hows about coming with me? You can keep an eye on my Gustav and, in the insanely unlikely event that anything should happen, you can run off for help."
"Why not?" She replied, then turned towards Leanne. "Have fun shoveling, kid." She added, playfully punching her in the arm.
"I grew up on a farm in case y'all didn't notice." Leanne replied. "I know how to shovel."
"And you are probably fantastical at it as well." Rayvenne finished, and then shoveled down some more of her food. "So, Dr F? When do we get going?"
"Well give me a minute or two. I want to place a few calls obviously, but I should be good to go in, say, ten to fifteen."
"Cool beans. I'll get the Sinker prepped." She stood up, leaving her plate where she had been sitting. "Have fun in the muck, guys." She added with a grin as she strode off to her Zoid."
"Yeah, yeah." Leanne muttered. "Ya'll care to be more obnoxious?" She finished off her plates. "You two done?"
"I am, thanks." Altheia replied, passing her plate.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to this crap." Jason admitted. "But its filling and powers me ofr the day. Thanks."
"No probs." Leanne replied as she collected everything up. "I jus' wish that certain members of the team would be a tad less obnoxious."
"I'm sure that Rayvenne's not that bad." Althiea spoke up. "This just, well, its not what she's used to."
"Well, I don't see it bein' what your used to, but I don't hear y'all bitching." She began as she scraped off the plates.
"She came of her own accord, Lee." Jason added as he began to clean up the rest of the camp. "She's got a right to complain if she wants to. Its not like she;s been dragged to school camp by her parents or anything."
"I know..." She scraped off the last of the plates. "Its jus' that she could do it less often."
"Well you never know." Jason admitted. "She may just surprise you."
"What, like you bein' all rational and sociable?" Jason couldn't think of a comeback to that, so he instead went off to clear up the rest of the camp. "Wha?" Leanne asked.
"Don't worry about him." Althiea began. "Jason... well, I think he's not that much of a people person. Truth being told, I don't think I am either."
"Yeah, Ali, but alt least yer not a grump about it."
oOoOo
Thorne glared at the trio of blips on her Darkhorn's display screen as they slowly approached her location. The three machines were apparently just ambling, not moving to attack or making any hostile moves. However, they had allready made a single fatal mistake. She wondered if they knew they were inside Blackstar territory. If they did, she suspected, then they would not be so casual. Certainly they wouldn't have strayed from the few main roads that visitors were allowed to use.
Still, they would get a warning. Everybody got that much. "Unidentified Zoids!" She called out over her communicator. "You have entered Blackstar territory. Surrender now or be destroyed. This is your final warning." There would be no negotiations, no offers for clemency, no chance to withdraw. hey had broken the law and, one way or another, would suffer the consequences.
The three Zoids offered no audible reply, instead increasing their speed and heading straight for her. So they made their choice, she thought. Now to make them pay for it. She opened up the Darkhorn's throttle, heading towards the enemy machines. "I will deal with these intruders." She called back to her squad. "Remain here until I call for you." The simple truth was that she enjoyed combat. It was where she was at her best, the place where she was best able to handle herself . For those brief moments she was able to overcome her own failings by proving that, no matter how flawed she was, she would still be better then those she defeated.
The Darkhorn charged across the cracked, blasted wastelands, charging towards the enemy Zoids. As they approached, her Zoid;'s sensors identified the three of them. Brachios, Evil Scorpion, Koenig Wolf. An unusual group, certainly. She was curious as to where the Wolf had come from, as it was only found in a handful of UZN units. Maybe its a relic from the war.
She came into range first, the linear artillery cannon spitting rounds at the enemy Zoids. A trio of explosions rippled across them, scattering the Zoids and showering them with debris. The Evil Scorpion staggered under the force of the blast, but was able to retain its footing. As she closed in., however, her initial suspicions aobut the Zoids were proven. All three of them showed signs of considerable wear and battle damage. The Wolf in particular was missing one of its foreleg armour panels, while the missile launchers on the other leg were clearly empty.
Thorne triggered the Hyperbeam cannon, firing at thre Brachios. The shot blasted into the smaller Zoid, smashing through the armour on its flank. The Zoid rocked in its feet, staggering and stumbling but still remaining up. Despite the damage, it turned to open fire on her with its back mounted cannon. Before it could get off a shot, however, Thorne opened fire with her Hiblit Balkan Cannon, the shots tearing into the damaged Zoid's flank, ripping it apart. The Brachios bellowed, then crashed to the ground on its side.
The Evil Scoprion opened fire with his tail cannon, the shot striking her Darkhorn on its shoulder but doing little more then marring the armour. The Koneig Wolf charged past it but, to her surprise, did not open fire with its dual rifles. In fact, they remained in their stowed position. So he's out of ammo for them as well. This makes things easy for me. She ignored it for the moment, focusing her ifre on the Scorpion. A blast from her focused beam cannon blasted through the enemy Zoid's body, blasting apart its structure and then shearing the tail off. Seeing it unarmed, she turned her attention to the wolf.
The main weapons turrets turned to face the enemy Zoid, both cannons opening up at the same time. The hyperbeam cannon narrowly missed its target, but the Hibilt didn't. The cannon ripped open the enemy Zoid's armour, shredding panels form neck to tail. The Wolf reeled under the assault, but skidded and charged again at her. At the same time, the Evil Scorpion also regained its footing, dazedly running at its attacker.
These fools! Don't they know when to give up? She swerved the controls, the Darkhorn now charging straight towards the larger enemy machine. The Scorpion lunged at it, only to be stuck by several bursts form the Darkhorns' smaller cannons. As it stumbled, the Darkhorn finished it off by simply running straight over it, the Zoid vanishing under its iron hooves with a loud crunching noise.
The Koenig Wolf reacted to her assault by turning to run straight at her, its fangs crackling with energy. Thorne knew what they could do, and wasn't about to allow it. The hyperbeam cannon spat fire, blasting into the Wolf's armored shoulder and tearing it apart. The enemy Zoid staggered, but somehow remained standing. He's either very brave or very foolish. Either way, he's dead. The Darkhorn lunged at its opponent, smashing into the enemy Zoid at full speed. The force of the impact caused both Zoids to shake as the Darkhorn's horns smashed into the Wolf's body, tearing apart its armour and structure.
Despite being thrown back into her seat by the force of the impact, Thorne was still in control of her Zoid. She shoved open the throttle, the Darkhorn roaring as it bought its massive head upwards in a gore. The attack tore through the Wolf's body, ripping apart its leg and separating it from the rest of the Zoid. The Koenig Wolf crashed to the ground, clearly disabled.
Thorne skidded the Darkhorn to a halt, then leaped out of the cockpit, running towards the downed enemy Zoid. "Enemy Machines are down!" She called into her communicator. "Am attempting to retrieve pilots. All units move in to provide support!" She drew her twin handguns as she leaped onto the Koenig Wolf's cockpit. She twisted open the emergency release, the canopy sliding open as she stood, pointing her two pistols at the pilot. "Don't move! Surrender or I will shoot!"
She didn't get any reply. Inside the cockpit was the body of a pilot, a dry, desiccated corpse, clad in the tattered remnants of a pilot's suit. He looked like he had been there for decades, strapped into his Zoid long after his own demise. Yet the Koenig Wolf had kept operating. "Enemy pilot is dead." She called over her communicator, a slightly surprised tone in her voice.
Thorne leaped off the wolf, springing over to the twisted wreckage of the Evil Scorpion. As she approached she could see that the canopy had been shattered by the force of her attack. Inside the cockpit, however, there was no sign of a pilot; not even a long-dead corpse. The Zoid had been completely unmanned. And even though she couldn't see the cockpit of the Brachios, she suspected that its pilot was also either missing or dead.
"What is going on here?" She asked herself.
oOoOo
From her office inside the Red Claw's temporary base, Jenice looked down at the swarm of new arrivals to their facilities. Levisha's bizarre menagerie of Chimera Zoids had been crammed into the hanger, taking up a lot of what little space they had. The new machines had been greeted by a mixture of curiosity and fear by the Red Claw's soldiers. Some of them wanted to know more about these strange new creatures that were now apparently their allies, while others seemed cautious of them, as if they were about to snap and attack at any moment.
Jencie herself found them to be fascinating. While she knew about the Chimera Zoids, and had even seen wreckage from a few, she had never expected to see a live one as such. The few they'd salvaged from various sites thus far had been inert and deactivated, a state that she had decided to leave them in for fear that they may go wild and attack anything they saw. Now here they were, tamed by Levisha's new Zoid and at her command.
"Fascinating, aren't they?" Levisha asked as she looked out over the office.
"Amazing." Jencie replied as she put her hand on the window. "They're not what I had expected. They're... not alive, not like other Zoids. Or rather, they are... lifeless. They are Zoids stripped of those elements that make them alive, reduced to their most bare and primitive levels; little more then machines. And yet, they have a small spark inside them; one that makes them bloodthirsty and ruthless."
She turned to face her second. "You have done well, Levisha, in bringing these Zoids to me. I can see that these machines will be of great use to us."
"And they are but a small portion of what I believe lies out there." She continued. "I gathered these as a trial run, of sorts. If we are successful in utilising them, then I would like to conduct a broader search."
"Well, we shall see what happens." Jenice continued.
"Excuse me." Sturm began as he walked in. "You asked to see me?"
"Certainly. Take a seat, both of you." Jenice replied as she sat behind a desk. "You two have done great work. You have managed to turn the Claw around; we are no longer struggling to survive, but rather are thriving. The new Zoids taken from the cache, as well as the Chimeras that Levisha has gathered have turned us into a force far more potent then we ever were." She looked over the pair of them. "So the question is this; what is our next move?"
"The Empire believes us to be defeated and broken." Sturm spoke up. "We need to demonstrate that we are anything but. We need to show them that the Red Claw is still a strong force, one that still threatens the empire."
"So what do you suggest?"
"A high-profile assault would be my first recommendation." Sturm replied. "We attack something that will be very visible, very noticeable, and do it in a very public way. This will allow us to not only demonstrate our strength, but demonstrate that we are not afraid to face the empire."
"It has its appeal." Jenice said, contemplating his ideas. "And what do you suggest, Levisha?"
"While I can see the wisdom to Sturm's decision, I have my own ideas." She began. "What I think we need to do is perform a trial run with the Chimeras, one that will allow us to asses just what they are capable of under relatively controlled conditions. If the test is unsuccessful, then we won't have exposed ourselves too far. If it is successful, then we can move onto grander things, such as what Sturm proposed."
"Hmmm..." Jenice leaned back as she considered matters. Both plans had their appeal, but certainly she was rather interested in the idea of a rather public display. On the other hand, she had to see the benefits to Levisha's argument. After the savaging of the Claw at the Lyra pit, it made sense to err on the side of caution to prevent another such incident. "Levisha, your plan has merit. We will, of course, need a target for such an attack."
"I have already identified one potential target for such a test run." She replied, unfolding a map on the table. "There is a geological research station here." She indicated to a point on the map. "Its rather isolated but, at the same time, of low military value. However, it may have more detailed geological survey maps of the area which could be of use to us."
"How so?" Sturm asked.
"We use those maps to locate a lot of our materials." Jenice replied. "The Empire likes to keep track of old battlefields, abandoned military facilities from all sides, hazards both natural and man made and the like. We've used them in past to gather resources. We salvage Zoids from old battlefields, use caves as places to hide, and raid abandoned depots for supplies."
"So I see." He nodded. "In that case, I must agree with Levisha's plan."
"Then that's what we'll do." Jenice finished. "Levisha, I want you to assemble a team of both Chimeras and human pilots; the regular Red Claws will serve as a backup in case there is a problem with the Chimeras."
"Certainly."
"There is one matter I wanted to enquire about." Sturm spoke up. "Have you considered what we will do regarding transporting the Chimeras? While both Flyscissors and Diploguns can fly, neither Demonshead nor Shellkarn are very fast on their feet and would probably slow us down."
"I hadn't considered that." Levisha considered. "When we both these ones back, we simply piled them onto Bart's Gustasv."
"Actually, that gives me an idea." Jenice spoke up. She took a sheet of paper off the table and began sketching. "We have a spare pair of covered Gustav trailers in the hanger below. Now, if we sub-divided them, we could turn them into 'kennels' if you like that the Chimeras would lurk in until we needed them. We use them to transport them to the target then, when the time is right, we unleash them like the proverbial hounds."
She handed over the sheet, which showed a trailer divided into upper and lower areas, as well as a rough indicator of where the Chimeras would go. "Fascinating."
"I'll begin work immediately." Jenice began. "We may need to delay your attack by a few hours, but I think that it will be well worth it."
"Certainly." Levisha nodded.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to get to." Jenice continued as she stood, a surprisingly pleasant smile on her face. "Levisha, be ready to move out no later then 1600 hours this afternoon."
"Yes, commander." Levisha replied, saluting as she stood.
Jenice nodded, then left the office, walking down to the hanger floor. As the pair of them watched, she headed over to Bart, her design in hand.
"That was... odd." Sturm began.
"It's a side of her you don't often see." Levisha replied. "Jenice has a... fascination, I'd say, for all things mechanical. It's one of the reasons why she hoarded Hydra artifacts."
"I do remember her being like that when she was with the Imperial army." Sturm recalled. "In fact, it was for those reasons that she was court martialed and imprisoned. But I didn't expect her to be so 'hands on' about matters."
"I think you'll find that there is a lot about the Red Claw that you don't expect, Sturm." Levisha finished with a smile.
oOoOo
Floyd's Gustav trundled along the desert road at a casual pace, Rayvenne's sinker following above it at little more then hovering speed. Around them was largely rocky grasslands, typical of the area, stretching off as far as the eye could see. "So, Rayvenne, what do you think of the scenery?" Floyd asked.
"It's... grass, really." She replied. "With trees and rocks, yeah." She shrugged. "Your point?"
"Better enjoy it while it lasts." He continued. "When we hit the eastern expanses, we're going to be seeing a lot of flat and blasted lands. I mean more then even we're used to. There's a while lot of badly hurting terrain around there."
"A desert's a desert to me, Floyd. I don't see what's the big deal."
"Ah, but don't you see?" He began. "What we're rolling htrough now used to be nothing more then good ol' barren wasteland. Before the Hydra war, this was a desert and the areas we'll be heading for were he fertile grasslands."
"Uh-huh." Rayvenne seemed a little lost. "I'm gonna be sounding a little nutty here, Floyd, but... how did that happen? I mean, you know, that whole desert to fertile thing."
"That's one of the things that my buddy researches." He explained. "You see, a lot of what we now know as the Zygra empire, with its rolling grassy plains and abundant fertile fields was originally a vast expanse called the Wastelands. And 'wastelands' wasn't just a catchy name. It really was wastelands; nothing but a vast expanse of deserts as far as the eye could see; it formed a nicely inhospitable natural boundary between the UZN and the Draken Empire."
"So, um, what happened?" She asked. "How did all this desert become, well... this?"
"That's one of the great mysteries of the Hydra age, my dear." Floyd continued. "At some point after Hydra set us up the bomb, the wastelands began to sprout and flourish. Nobody knows exactly what happened but, all of a sudden, we had a far more interesting and more livable stretch of dirt. And while a lot of people blame climate cooling form nuclear winter, that's only half the story. No, I think something else occurred."
"And this guy you're going to see knows what it was?"
"Probably not. But he's going to give it a shot anyway." Floyd finished with a grin. "He's one of the best geologists I've ever met. Certainly, I think that his work is going to be just what we need for our merry little quest."
"I see..." She nodded to herself. "So uh, Floyd? Can I ask you something?"
"Fire away, Rayvenne. I'm all ears."
"You said that Ali has all that weird hydra stuff inside her." She began. "Can I ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"What does that mean? Really." She sounded more then a little nervous. "I mean, you said that it was used to communicate with.. um... stuff. But there's more then just that, isn't there? There's something that you're not telling her, something more to it."
"Rayvenne, I want you to believe me when I say that I have told her everything I know." He replied, an unusually serious tone in his voice. "The truth is, there's gaps in our knowledge of Hydra, big, scary gaps."
"Like what?"
"Well, we know that Hydra's leaders communicated with each other via some sort of super-powerful communications network created with the gear that was inside their heads. What we don't know is where the tech came from or, more to the point, how it got inside their heads. And for all we know about Hydra's head honchos, there's something we're missing."
"Which is?"
"The later stages of the war made one thing clear." He explained. "They were all reporting to someone. The thing is, nobody knows who that was."
oOoOo
Rayvenne had spent the rest of the trip in relative silence, clearly mulling over what he'd said to her. So instead their two Zoids had continued on their journey, an unlikely looking pair of shapes rolling across the landscape. Floyd had let her think in silence, instead sitting back while he ran a few classical tunes through the Gustav's speakers.
As they'd approached the lab, which was nestled in the foothills of a nearby mountain range, he'd begun to pick up some activity. To his surprise, there were a number of Zoids around the lab. While the small swarm of Connects were understandable, what with their incredible utility for scientific work, the presence of a pair of Tanks and a Spiker, all clearly Imperial army issue, was a considerable surprise to him.
"Rayvenne, I think it may be for the best if you made yourself scarce." He began. "Lurk nearby, just in case I need you, but don't come too close."
"Roger that." She replied in the low, throaty voice she used for her 'mysterious sinker pilot' persona. He suspected that she had already donned her helmet and bandanna just as a precaution.
The Sinker banked away as the Gustav rolled towards the facility, casually driving up the road towards it as if there was nothing happening and its pilot owned the facility. Floyd quietly hummed to himself as he approached it, noting the Spiker moving to block his path. He stopped the Gustav as the Zoid moved in front of it, its two blades raided above the Gustav's head.
"Identify yourself!" The pilot called out.
"My name is Dr Floyd Glass." he casually replied. "I'm here to see Dr Neville Slate. He's expecting me." Which was anything but true, but it made for a nice start.
"Just a moment." The Spiker's pilot replied. Floyd causally drummed his fingers on the dashboard as he waited. "Okay, you're clear. Head in."
"Thank you very much, officer." He replied. "And keep up the good work. The Empire needs more like you."
The Gustav parked itself in front of the lab, next to one of the Tanks. As Floyd clambered out of the cockpit, a man walked out of the facility. He had dark skin, a droopy moustache and wiry hair, and was dressed in a shirt and coat that seemed a bit too small for his ample frame. "Doctor Floyd Glass!" He called out. "You name-dropping old coot!"
"Doc Neville Slate!" Floyd called back. "Great to see you again." He grabbed the man's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Just how long has it been anyway?"
"Too long. Way, way too long." He glanced around. "What say we get out of this heat and find ourselves a nice place to talk, huh?" It wasn't that hot, but Floyd knew what he meant.
"Why sure thing, Nev. Lead on."
Neville lead Floyd inside, heading upstairs to a rather cluttered office. Moving some papers aside, he offered a seat to Floyd, then sat down behind his desk. "So I'm going to assume that this isn't just a social call." He began as he leaned back in his chair. "Because I just cant see you being in my neck of the woods and just spontaneously deciding to drop by for a visit."
"I'll admit that you have me there, Nev." Floyd put his hands up. "In fact, I was after some help on a pet project of mine."
"My help?" Neville looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Since when did you become a Rockhound, Floyd? You were always messing about with machines and technology and your whacky conspiracy theories."
"They're not whacky." He replied. "I have proof."
"Of course you do, Floyd." He replied, the broke into a laugh. "Gods, its been far too long, hasn't it?"
"It has, Nev." Floyd agreed. "How is the rockhounding business going?"
"Very, very interestingly, actually." Neville continued. "We've discovered some, frankly, freaky crap in a recent survey of the former Southern Territories." He pulled out a map of the area. "And I know you're not a rockhound, Floyd, but I'm sure you'll get a kick out of this." He poked an area on the map. "We were doing some experimental drilling in the sub-Antarctic area, looking for some of those strange blue crystals. What we got was... interesting."
"Interesting?"
"Oh, we found veins of some hitherto unknown mineral that seems to exist in a liquid state." He continued. "We could only a get a few samples, but it was enough to arouse some not inconsiderable interest higher up the food chain." He shrugged. "But I am digressing a lot."
"No need to apologise, Nev." Floyd replied. "In fact, it's much like the reasons that I came here."
"Oh really? Do tell."
"I'm after the best geological surveys you have of the Eastern Expanse." He offered. "Basically, I want to know what's down there. I'm running a small expedition to look for... stuff, really and we wanted the best places to start."
"This is your crazy Hydra tech again, isn't it?" Neville asked. "And out to the Expanse too. Do the poor saps you're with know what they've gotten themselves into?"
"Actually, they were behind it." He admitted, which wasn't entirely untrue. "One of them was the primary motivator for this expedition. I merely chose to lead it because of my experience in the field."
"Well, I'll believe you, even if I find it unlikely that any sane person would want to go out there."
"Since when have I ever been accused of being sane?" Floyd replied with a grin.
"You have me there." Neville replied, his hands in the air. "Here you go, you crazy old pirate. They're yours." He grabbed a couple of maps from under his desk, and offered them to Floyd.
"Hmm..." Floyd looked over his desk. "Mind if I get one of the Southern Territories as well? What you found reminds me of this-"
"All right, all right!" Neville called out with mock distress. "I know when I'm beaten. And I know that If I hand them over now, I'll avoid another insane lecture on your latest bizarre theory."
"Oh come on." Floyd replied. "And what was wrong with my Lunar Propagation theory?"
"Nothing." Neville replied. "Except for the fact that I want to know how the Malders got to the moon in the first place."
"Details, details." Floyd shook his head. "Its always the details with you."
"Look, its a great theory. And if there were more wild mutants around to test it with, I'm sure you'd have all the proof you needed." Neville added with a smirk.
"Well, you know-" He began, but was cut off by a beeping from his coat pocket. "Hold on a minute, Neville." He pulled out a communicator from his pocket. "Yellow, Glass here."
"Floyd, its me." Rayvenne hissed in her disguised voice.
"What's up?"
"There's a big group of Zoids heading straight for you." She replied. "I think its the Red Claw."
"Ah." He began. "Right. Here's what I want you to do. Go back to the others and get then as quickly as possible."
"But what about-"
"There's a whole stack of people here that I need to look after first." He explained. "You're not going to do anything on your own, but you can get the others. Now go!"
"Sure." She hissed, then closed the line.
"Floyd, is something up?" Neville asked.
"We appear to be in an awful lot of trouble, Neville." He replied. "We're about to be attacked. I suggest you do whatever you can to prepare."
oOoOo
The quarry Floyd had mentioned was not quite what Althiea had expected. It was far more abandoned then what she'd thought, being a weed-choked mess of loose rocks inside a pit that was now half full of loose debris. Only a few piles of scrap metal suggested that the site had ever seen any use at all.
As soon as they'd arrived and done a quick survey of the scene, Althiea had figured that whatever secrets the site may have held would be rather well buried. So she'd set the three of them to work, using their Zoids to sift through the rubble for any artifacts that may remain in there. The idea was a simple one; the Zoids could move a lot more rubble and debris then they ever could by hand.
The Iron Kong had proved to be remarkably adept at the work, its massive hands able to quickly move large amounts of rock and debris. Althiea had accumulated a considerable pile of tailings and debris behind her machine but, save for a few scraps of metal, nothing that proved a Hydra presence here. All she had to show for it so far was a rather dirty Kong and a rather large pile of rocks.
The Gunsniper had also proven to be capable of digging. The smaller Zoid had squatted down and simply shoveled rocks out with its forelegs, building up a pile behind it. While not moving anywhere near the volume of material that the Iron Kong was, it was still moving at an impressive rate. Of course, that didn't help matters. Again like the Iron Kong, it had moved a lot of rubble for no appreciable gain.
Lacking proper hands and instead having only a single, vice-like claw, Jason's Iguan wasn't able to do much in the way of digging. He'd tried to improvise some tools to lever rocks with, but found that it achieved very little. Instead, he'd resorted to using the Iguan's claw to sift through what the other two had already dig up, just to see if they hadn't missed anything. All he'd managed to do so far was confirm that the other two had found nothing.
"This is stupid." Jason commented as the Iguan tossed aside another piece of scrap metal from the pile. It was a small, rusted, bent piece, just like every other bit of debris they found. It wasn't useful, it wasn't interesting and it told them nothing. "We haven't found a thing. Why are we doing this?"
"Because Floyd thinks there may be something here." Althiea replied. "And I don't want to pass that opportunity up."
"Right." Jason snorted. "I think he just wants to get us out of the way so he can do his… whatever it is without us bothering him."
"Hey!" Leanne called out, her Gunsnipoer perking up and turning to face him. "That ain't fair!"
"Oh come on." Jason snapped. "Why else would he send us out here to do this?"
"He suggested that we do it, Jason." Althiea replied. "You didn't have to come along."
"Yeah…" Jason muttered. "But… you ever get the feeling that there's a lot that he isn't telling us?"
"Me?" Leanne asked. "Well, no actually."
"What I mean is…" Jason glanced around at the other two Zoids. "Sometimes he acts like he knows something and isn't going to tell us. I want to know hwy?"
"Well, he is rather well educated and well read." Althiea explained. "There's an awful lot that he knows, actually. You should try listening to him for a change, rather then sulking all the time!" She snapped, then suddenly stopped.
Both the Iguan and the Gunsniper looked at her Zoid. Neither pilot could ever recall hearing Altheia get angry. Upset, scared, confused, certainly, but never angry.
"Ali?" Leanne asked. "Y'all okay there?"
"I'm fine, really." She hastily replied.
"Well fine then." Leanne replied. "So can we get - hey!"
"What is it?" Althiea asked.
"I foun' something… hang on!" The Gunsniper grabbed something and began pulling, trying to yank it out of the ground. Its feet dug into the ground then began to slowly pull backwards as the Zoid dragged something out of the dirt. With a final shove, it managed to pull up something from the ground. "Hey, check it out, guys."
The other two Zoids moved over to where the Gunsniper was standing, peering down at what it had found. It was a single, battered panel of armour, clearly from a Molga. A section of a Hydra insignia was partially visible on its hull, but otherwise there was nothing interesting about it.
"Yes, it's a chunk of Molga." Jason commented. "Like we could find anywhere else in this godforsaken wasteland. Great."
"Okay, Jase." Leanne snapped. "Y'all don't need to be so mean about it."
Before either of them could reply, their communicators crackled to life. "Guys!" Rayvenne called out. "Floyd's in trouble!"
"What's happening?" Althiea asked, an almost panicked tone in her voice.
"I dunno…" She replied. "I think it's the Red Claw!"
""But… they got trashed, didn't they?" Leanne asked.
"Apparently not." Jason shook his head.
"Then let's go." Althiea spoke up. "If it's the Red Claw, then Floyd is in real danger."
"Yeah. And anything beats this dirtpile." Jason muttered.
oOoOo
Levisha's plan of attack was a simple one. She'd use the regular Red Claw troops to recon the situation around the site, then deploy the Chimeras and observe what occurred. After that, she's send in infantry to clear up and acquire the information she needed. It was a simple enough plan.
What she hadn't expected was what the recon had found. There was a Gustav parked near the facility; more to the point, it was apparently the one used by Floyd Glass. Well this is a nice turn of events, she thought as she analyzed the situation. If she could capture Glass, then it would be of incredible benefit, and not only to the Red Claw. Any information she gained from the research facility would be a bonus.
"All units, withdraw from the recon." She called over her communicator. "Bart, release the Chimeras. I will lead this attack myself."
The Lord Gale swooped down, a small contingent of Flyscissors Chimeras following it. Below, Bart's Gustav trundled towards the facility, then halted, the doors on the sides of its trailers opening. Several Demonsheads and Shellkarns leaped out, ambling towards the research centre as fast as their stubby legs would carry them, while a pair of Diploguns hovered behind them.
She activated her Lord Gale's control system, issuing orders to the units; destroy all enemy Zoids, but do not attack the Gustav. Each of the Chimeras signaled back with an affirmative reply, before charging towards their target. For the moment, she was content to remain overhead and watch them, just to see what they would do. She didn't expect much in the way of effective resistance from the defending forces. They were outnumbered and, more to the point, she doubted that they were expecting to face Chimera Zoids.
A pair of Diploguns opened fire on one of the tanks, their cannons tearing into its thickly armoured body. The Zoid rocked under the impact of the hits, but managed to remain operational. The Tank opened fire with its own cannons, narrowly missing one of the advancing Diploguns. Before it could strike again, a Flyscisspors swooped down on the tank, its oversized pincers wrapping around the machine's long neck. In a single swift strike, the chimera Zoid decapitated the tank, its head crashing to the ground.
The second tank fared little better, being fired on by a pair of Shellkarns. The two Zoids peppered the tank with shots form their cannons, gouging into its armour. The Zoid tried to back off from them, but the Shellkarns pressed the assault. As one of them opened up on it again, the other one charged forwards, swinging its oversized fists at the enemy machine. The Zoid's fist smashed into the Tank's side, knocking it off balance with the force of the blow. As the tank's pilot tried to recover from the hit, the second Shellkarns finished it off with its cannons.
A Demonshead charged at the Spiker, ignoring the fire form the other Zoid's cannons. It lounged forwards with one of its lances, slamming into the side of the smaller Zoid's cockpit. Before the Spiker pilot could recover, the Demonshead roared at it, then lunged again, trapping its massive jaws around the enemy Zoid. The Demonshead slammed its mouth shut, crushing the Spiker's frame with a hideous shriek of metal. Irrespective of the enemy Zoid's condition, it continued to attack, further rushing and rending the enemy machine.
"Brutal." Levisha commented to herself. "Yet effective." She watched as the chimeras mopped up what little opposition remained outside, activating her Zoids comms system again. "Enemy defenses are nullifed." She began. "Bring in the troops and secure the area." At the same time, she issued a 'stand down' command the Chimeras, setting them to standby for further orders.
The Lord Gale landed by the front of the research center just as the Red Claw's tank pulled up. Levisha clambered out of the cockpit, meeting the leader of the Red Claw infantry squadron. "Follow me in." She commanded. "Do not fire unless fired upon. We want the personnel inside here alive."
"Yes, commander." The sergeant replied.
I'm sure your tiny little brains can handle that much, she mentally added. "Right. Move in."
The troops stormed through the froont door, entering the rather stark reception area. "Nobody move!" One of them soldiers called out. "Lie down on hte floor! Now!"
"Hold on a second." Levisha countermanded him. "You. We are here for your research. Who is in charge here?"
"That would be Doctor Slade." She nervously replied. "Second floor, office 203."
"Right." Levisha turned towards one of the soldiers. "You, watch the entrance and tell me if anything happens." She turned to the rest of the squad. "The three of you are with me. The rest of you are to head in and secure this floor. There shouldn't be too much resistance but remember - do not open fire. I want the staff here alive and unharmed for now."
"Yes, commander."
"Let's go." She headed up the stairs, the three soldiers behind her. Reaching the second floor, she cautiously headed down the hallway until she reached the office she was after. Waiting by the door, she nodded to one of the soldiers.
The Soldier slammed into the door, kicking it in and sending it crashing to the floor. Levisha immediately ran in after him, gun drawn. "Nobody move!" She called out as she scanned the room. A pair of men were behind the desk, busy rolling up maps. She recognised one of them immediately; Floyd Glass, the Red Claw's most wanted. She had no idea who the other one was, however.
"I had no intention to at all." Floyd replied. "I know what to do when surrounded by heavily armed goons."
"Floyd Glass." Levisha began. "So good to see you again."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" He asked.
"Probably not." She replied. "I am the second in command of the Red Claw. And I have been after you for a long time."
"Aaaah!" Floyd replied. "You would be the lovely Levisha Towne who I have heard so much about." He began. "Pleased to meet you." He offered his hand to her, but she didn't take it. "I'd like you to meet my good friend, Dr Neville Slade."
"Delighted, I'm sure." Neville began. "Floyd, what exactly have you been up to?"
"Travel, Nev." Floyd offered. "Broadening the mind, going new places and meeting exciting new people."
"I see. And do they all break into peaceful research facilities and kick down doors?"
"Only a few." Floyd nodded. "Ms Towne here had been after me for some time, even though I've never met her before."
"Knowing you, I suspect that its better that I don't ask why."
Levisha smiled for a moment. "Dr Glass has made my life rather interesting for the last few months. I did come here for him, however." She glanced over at the soldiers behind her. "Secure the rest of the floor. I will handle these two."
"You're not?" Floyd asked. "I'm disappointed."
"Actually, I came here for him and his maps." She indicated to Neville. "But I think that you make for a very nice bonus."
"Well, won't Jencie be pleased with you." Floyd continued. "Time for a little one-upmanship, then?"
Levisha chose not to react. "Dr Slade, I'm here for your maps. If you cooperate with me, then nobody else needs to get hurt. If not, well, there is a squadron of trigger-happy soldiers running around this building, armed with very twitchy assault rifles that could take steps to ensure your cooperation."
"I understand." He replied.
She glanced down at a map currently spread out on the table. "What's this?" She asked.
"The Southern Territories. We were doing a survey and-"
"This area." She pointed down at the map. "What does this mean?"
"Well, as I was explaining to Floyd, we found something very unusual." He glanced nervously at her. "We found veins of a previously unknown mineral, one that seemed to exist in a liquid state under natural conditions."
"I see." She picked up the map and examined it, her eyes narrowing. "Very interesting. Doctor Slade, you have done some excellent work here. I cannot begin to say how-"
She never got to finish her sentence. Floyd picked up a cardboard shipping tube and swung it around, clipping Levisha's right eye with the plastic stopper. She reeled back, dropping the gun as she cluchched her face, suddenly shouting out in pain. "Now, Nev!" Floyd called out, the pair of them bolding out of the office.
"Damn you!" Levisha shouted out. "Augh. That hurt, you bastard!" She picked herself up, holding a hand over her eye, then slowly drew it away. It seemed fine, with nothing hurt beyond her pride. But then again, given what I work with that's not so- As she stepped forward, she heard a soft cracking sound, like a contact lens being stepped on. "Oh hell."
A minute later, she staggered out of the office, a hand over her right eye. "Towne to all units!" She snapped into her communicator. "Be on the lookout for two men in coats, one tall the other dark skinned. Capture them but do not harm them. Repeat, do not harm them!"
She snarled as she set off down the hallway, her gun in her left hand. "Commander?" A soldier called out as she passed him. "Are you-"
"Yes, damn it!" She snapped. "Now get after those two!"
Before the soldier could go, her communicator beeped. "Commander Towne?" The voice on the other end began. "This is Bob. We've detected a force of enemy Zoids approaching."
"Stay right there." She replied. "I'll deal with it." Closing the link, she turned back to the soldier. "Go to room 203 and take everything that you find in there."
"Yes commander." He replied. "But what about your-"
"NOW!" She shouted, then stomped off down the stairs.
oOoOo
Despite the Iron Kong's size and mass, Althiea had discovered, much to her surprise, that the Zoid was able to readily keep pace with the other Zoids in their team. In fact, it was only a little slower then her Hammer Rock had been, despite being so much larger.
The Iron Kong thundered across the landscape, the Iguan and Gunsniper on its flanks. Rayvenne's Sinker flew above and ahead of their group, leading them towards their objective. Inside the cockpit of her Zoid, Althiea tried to remain focused and calm. It wasn't easy; she was actually quite afraid for what might happen to Floyd if the Red Claw captured him.
"Do you have any idea on the enemy force's strength?" Jason asked across the communications channel.
"None at all." Rayvenne admitted. "I left before they arrived so I could get to you guys. I do know that it was big, and that there was more then one flying Zoid."
"More then one?" Jason asked. "Right .It has to be that Redler and the Evo Flyer we saw at Lyra. I know they don't have any other airborne Zoids."
"Heck. We've been havin' a hard enough time takin' em on one at a time." Leanne commented. "How in the heck do y'all plan on handlin' two at once?"
"We'll figure something out." Althiea replied. "I'll try to provide you with support." She was still unsure about how she would handle the Zoid in a battle. While she had practiced a lot with the Iron Kong's weapons and operations, she was yet to use them in a real battle. Her main hope was that the Zoid's sheer size would be enough to intimidate any opponents into fleeing first.
"What I wanna know is why in the heck are thy attackin' a geology lab?" Leanne asked. "I don't get it."
"You don't think that they're after Floyd, do you?" Jason asked.
"I don't think so." Rayvenne replied. "I think Floyd dropped in unannounced. There's no way the Claw could have been onto him that quickly, unless their base is really close by."
"They raided my home town for geological surveys of the local area." Althiea interjected. "Maybe they're doing the same on a larger scale now."
"And Floyd is just a target of opportunity." Jason added. "Great. Now we're in real trouble."
"So what do we do?" Rayvenne asked. "I mean, we've got a hwole pile of baddies to deal with and we need to get Floyd out."
"Standard approach." Jason replied. "We wade in and hope that Ali's Kong is enough to scare the enemy off. We beat up anyone left over, then pick up the pieces. And just hope that Floyd will have figured a way out of whatever he's gotten himself into."
"He's smart." Althiea added. "I'm sure he's thought of something."
"Well, whatever it is, I hope he does it soon." Jason replied. "Because we're going to be on them in a second."
"I see 'em." Leanne called back. "I've got blips all over my scope."
"Same here." Althiea replied. She activated the targeting system for the hyperbeam cannon, sweeping it over the targets available. "I'm engaging now."
Sighting a Baltar that she had a clear shot at, she lined it up and squeezed the trigger. The results were anything but what she had expected; the beam simply passed through the Zoid's body, smashing through one side of the armour and busting out the other. The Baltar was literally smashed off its feet by the force of the blow, crashing to the ground on its side, clearly out of action.
"Wow." Leanne began. "Remind me never to cheese you of."
"I... I didn't expect that." Althiea replied, clearly surprised by what had just happened.
The other Red Claw Zoids reacted abut as well as she had; they immediately broke and scattered, trying to get out of the path of Althiea's Zoid, and specifically out of her line of fire. "They're running!" Jason called out. "Get after them!"
"Check again, Jase." Rayvenne added. "There's a lot more where that came from."
Althiea looked over to the research facility. There was a crowd of Zoids around it that didn't seem to have reated as yet. She could see that there was a pair of Gustavs with them, one of which looked to be Floyd's.
"What are they waiting for?" Leanne asked.
"Don't worry about them!" Jason called out. "Get after those Red Claws."
"Hold on..." Althiea replied. Looking over them, she recongised the designs of two of the unusual Zoids; the same machines that she had encountered in the desert the first time she had met Jason. "They're unmanned Zoids, Chimeras." She explained. I think... I think they're waiting for orders." One of the Zoids, a lot taller then the others stood up, looming over tem. It s slender body stood atop skeletal legs, with a pair of wings hanging off its back. The Zoid took to the air, while on the ground, the others Zoids began to stir.
"What in the heck is happening now?" Leanne asked.
"I... I have no idea." She admitted.
oOoOo
Levisha donned a pair of aviator glasses as the Lord Gale leapt into the air, at the same time stashing the handful of maps she'd managed to get her hands on. She was in a rather unpleasant mood, not happy about her perfect plan being suddenly disrupted. She'd been very close to capturing Glass, which would have been in incredible breakthrough. Yet he'd managed to get away, and almost reveal her at the same time.
"Bob, what is going on?" She shouted over the communicator. "Where are your men?"
"Running!" He called back. "There's a goddamned Iron Kong down there. We're not hanging around!"
"What?" She snapped, then looked over her tactical display. Sure enough, there was a single large Zoid, escorted by two others and a flyer. It's them! she thought. But where did that Zoid come from? The presence of an Iron Kong changed everything; she knew that her own forces couldn't begin to handle it, let alone any others. Her best option would be to retreat and try to preserve her forces. She had what she came for, both the maps and the battle data, which meant that she could claim that she accomplished her mission.
However, she didn't want to leave, at least, not yet. Not when they had a good chance of capturing Glass. It irritated her that she had been that close to capturing him, but yet he had managed to slip through her fingers. Its something that he has an amazing talent for, she mentally added, considering all the times that the Red Claw had crossed paths with him. And yet, he is still necessary to us.
Glancing down, however, she could see that the situation was unsalvageable. She could try rallying her men, but she knew that it would do her little good. The most likely result would be the rest of her squad getting wiped out. Not a desirable outcome. It left her out of options, unless...
"Bart!" She snapped. "Don't bother with recovering the Chimeras. Withdraw now; I'll catch up with you."
"Sure thing. You don't have to tell me twice." He replied, a hint of relief in his voice. She knew that he didn't want to face off against the Iron Kong and, for once, she agreed with him. The Gustav lurched into motion, leaving the row of inert Chimeras behind, awaiting her instructions.
You wanted a test, Jenice. Let's see what you think of this. She activated the control console again, instructing the Chimeras to attack the enemy Zoids, treating the Iron Kong as their primary target. If it defeats them, then I will still have had time to escape, she thought. And if they defeat it, then It will be all the better.
oOoOo
"All rightie!" Rayvenne called out as her Sinker swooped down on a fleeing Serpent. "Now this is how I like to see the Claw acting!" She opened fire with the twin Beam Gattlings, raking the Serpent with shots. Despite the damage, the Zoid managed to keep going, opening fire with its quad foreword cannons in reply. Rayvenne pulled back on the stick, climbing away from the Zoid's fire.
The Serpent continued to accelerate, tearing away from the Sinker as fast as it could. The rest of the Red Claws' foce were doing the same, each one of them trying to get as far away from their attack. It seemed that Althiea's Zoid had the desired effect; the enemy pilots had essentially lost the will to fight, especially after seeing one of their number effortlessly dispatched as had happened to the Baltar.
"These guys are running scared!" Rayvenne called out. "We've got 'em good!" She sounded incredibly cheerful, nothing like how nervous and apprehensive she had been earlier when she was concerned about Floyd. She also wasn't even trying to keep to her persona, having slipped back to her normal voice.
"Just don't get too cocky!" Jason called back. "They may be up to something."
"Like them strange Zoids." Leanne hissed. "Guys! Better get back here!" As one, the group of bizarre unmanned Zoids had leaped into action, suddenly charging straight at her own machine. "These guys are comin' fast!"
"Say what?" Rayvenne called out, then was cut off by a beep from her sensors. Something was coming at her at high speed, literally heading straight for her Sinker. She swerved the controls hard to the right, her Zoid veering out of the path of the enemy Zoid. An orange blur streaked past her, then looped around to come back.
"What the hell is that crazy thing?" She called out as she wheeled her Zoid around to face it. The compact Zoid was already climbing away, trying to come around for another pass. Rayvenne pulled back on the stick, trying to being the Sinker around to get a shot at it. She grunted as the g-pull pushed back on her, flattening her into the seat. That guy's pulling a stupidly tight turn... how's he managing it? Then she saw the Zoid closer, and realised how. There's no cockpit! They really are unmanned!
The Sinker's nose pulled around a little more, the enemy Zoid barely managing to keep ahead of her. As she closed in on it, Rayvenne opened fire, spraying shots at the bizzare-looking machine. Several rounds slammed into its back and wings, ripping through its thin armour. The enemy Zoid rolled over, at least having the programmed sense to try to get out of her way, and tried to dive.
"No... you don't!" Rayvenne grunted out as she rolled the Sinker, the force of the turn one again pressing her back. She gripped the control stick, managing to keep the Zoid under control and pursuing its target. She opened fire on the Chimera Zoid again, this time more of the shots finding their mark. The Zoid peeled away for a moment, then simply exploded in maids air.
"Dammit!" She called out as she managed to fight the Sinker back to level flight. "That thing was... ah hell!" The sensors beeped as another Zoid apporoached her, closing in at speed from behind. Rayvenne twisted the control stick, the Sinker managing to bank out of the way as the other Zoid approached. As she watched, a second of the beight orange mahcine flew straight through the space she had occupeid only a moment before. To her surpise, howerver, it made no effort to chase after her.
Instead, the Zoid turned, diving in on an atack run. Tracing its path, she could see where it was heading - straight for Althiea's Iron Kong. "Ali!" She called out. "Check your six! Incoming flying bug...thing!" She opened up the Sinker's throttle and bought the Zoid around, trying to catch the unmanned Zoid before it could strike.
oOoOo
Althiea heard Rayvenne's warning shout and rewacted instantly, twisting the controls around. The iron Kong turned to face the incoming Zoid, raising its left arm and opening fire with the twin-barreled cannon. The shots tore into the enemy machine, blasting it apart in an instant.
No sooner had she dealt with the one threat then another one appeared. A pair of Shellkarns approached her Zoid, both bending forwards and opening fire with their quad anti-armour missiles. The rounds streaked towards the Iron Kong, slamming into its chest armour and sending the Zoid staggering. Grabbing the controls, Althiea managed to stabilise the massive machine before it toppled over.
Checking the statrus board, she could see that while the armour was damaged, the missiles hadn't penetrated too far, with no damage to the Iron Kong's structure or systems. Not wanting to give them a second chance, she turned the Zoid to face them, dropping her sights onto them. She opened fire again with the Hyperbeam cannon, aiming to take them out as quickly as possible. The Shellkarns twisted out of the way, the masive beam shot still tearing into it and literally shredding its right arm. The Zoid was spun around by the force of the blow, and knocked flat onto its face.
To her suroise, it got straight back up, then charged at her Zoid, its single remaining arm waiving in the air. The other Shellkarn also charged, opening fire wth the twin cannons in the shoulder. Altheia raised the Kong's right arm, the shots bouncing off its heavily armoured forearm. Undeterred, the two Zoids continued to close in.
The damaged Shellkarn was struck by several shots to its back, again staggering it. The Zoid propped itself up on its remaining arm, trying to stabilse itself. Before it could respond, however, Jason's Iguan leaped onto it, its feet slamming the Zoid in the back and sending it face-first into the dirt. The Iguan then opened fire with is quad-barreled hand cannon, the blasts tearing apart the smaller Zoid.
Leanne's Gunsiper charged across the landscape next to it, opening fire on the second Shellkarn with its twin wrist cannons. The shots bounced off its thick shoulder armour, the other Zoid seemingly unaffected by her attacks. The Shelkarn turned its attention towards her Zoid, replying with its twin cannons. The guns spat fire, several shots striking the Gunsniper on the leg and flank before Leanne could twist it out of the line of fire.
Jason's Iguan swung around to face the Shellkarn, opening fire with its twin head guns. Again the shots deflected off its shoulders with little or no effect. Snarling angrily at it, Leanne opened fire with one of the rocket pods on the Gunsniper's back. This time the weapons had more effect, blasting apart the smaller Zoid. "Y'all stay down, okay?" She snapped. "Damn Chimeras."
Another pair of shots struck the Iron Kong in the back, drilling into the maneuver thrusters. Despite the damage, the machine stayed standing, the damage board indicating that it was only the armour that was damaged - for now. Althiea twisted the Zoid around, looking for her attackers. Hovering behind the Iron Kong was a pair of unusual, fish-like Zoids, a surprisingly large cannon slung under their wedge-shaped heads.
Altheia prepared to open fire on them but, before she could, the Zoid lurched suddenly to the right. The machine shook again as red lights came on, indicating damage to the legs. Glancing around, she saw what was causing it - a Chimera Zoid had charged at her own machine, spearing it with a pair of lances. She recoginised it as a Demonshead, one of the machines she had initially encountered in the desert.
The Zoid reared back, then swung open its massive jaw. Lunging forwards, the Demonshead sunk its fangs into the Iron Kong's foot. More systems lit up in red as the small Zoid bit into the Iron Kong. Looking over it, Althiea could see while it was not likely to destroy her Zoid, the Demonshead could easily cripple or immolbilise it.
She twisted the Zoid around, swinging backwards with the arms. There was a metallic clanging as one of them struck the enemy Zoid, knocking it way from the Iron Kong. Before the Demonshead could recover, the Kong swung around again, driving one of its massive metal fists into the enemy Zoid. The fist drove the Chimera into the ground, literally crushing it.
The two flying fish came around for another pass at her, bearing down on her Zoid while she was distracted with the Demonshead. As they began their attack run, Leanne's Gunsniper chased after them. She opened fire with her second rocket battery, the missiles slamming into the Zoid and blasting it apart in mid-air.
The second one continued on its attack run, not aware or not caring about what had happened to its colleague. Althiea lined it up in her sights, locking onto it with her missile launchers. The shoulder rack opened up, a quartet of missiles flying towards the enemy Zoid as it approached. The Zoid tried to peel out of its way, only to be struck in the midsection and smashed out of the air. The Zoid crashed to the ground with black smoke billowing out form its flak, apparently disabled.
The remaining Demonshead swing its lances forwards and charged at Leanne's Gunsniper, moving as fast as its stubby legs could carry it. However, before it could strike, Floyd's Gustav intercepted it's charge by simply plowing straight into it. The Gustav smashed into the Demonshead's side, smashing it down. The Gustav continued its charge, pushing into the Chimera Zoid before plowing it under; the other machine vanishing under its wheels with a loud thumping noise.
The Gustav turned around, looking over the collection of Zoids, as well as the debris from the battle. "Sorry I was late." Floyd began. "But I couldn't let you kids have all the fun."
oOoOo
Levisha's Lord Gale swooped down through the doors of the Red Claw's subterranean bunker, pulling up and landing neatly in the main hanger. Behind it, the remnants of her strike force rolled into the base. Save for the Baltar, they'd lost none of their manned Zoids. However, not a single one of the Chimeras had survived. As she climbed out of the Lord Gale, Levisha considered her options. Certainly, she knew that Jenice would not appreciate the numbers alone.
She strode into Jenice's office, still wearing her aviator's glasses. She wasn't happy with the situation, but, at the same time, she knew that she had no other options. Glass had done a lot more damage then he thought, she said to herself. Or did he plan this? He is, after all, a dangerous intellect.
"Captain Towne." Jencie began. "I noticed that you bought back a substantially smaller foece then you left with."
"Yes, commander." Levisha replied as she saluted. "I do apologise for that. While the initial attack went off flawlessly, there were... complications." She felt that being honest would be the best way to handle this situation. "We were ambushed by another group of Zoids once we had secured the facility. Specifically, it was the same group that has given us so much trouble in pass."
"Glass. I should have known."
Levisha nodded. "His forces had expanded somewhat, however. In place of the Hammer Rock that was destroyed at Lyra, his group now fielded an Iron Kong."
"This changes things." Jencie said as she glanced out the window of her office. The bay next to it, the one that had formerly been empty, was now occupied by two of the Zoids taken from the same cache that had yielded the Lord Gale. Both were being inspected to ascertain their full functionality.
"I was forced to sacrifice the Chimera Zoids in order to ensure our escape." Levisha continued. "In this role, they performed very well. They were able to hold off the enemy force, and even managed to deal some damage to the Kong before being destroyed."
"So the Chimeras were a success then." Jencie commented. "Very good work, Towne. I want you to begin work on recovering as many of these Zoids as possible from the wastes."
"Certainly commander." She nodded. "But that was not the only thing that I gained from today's raid."
"Do tell."
Levisha unfurled one of the large maps onto the table. "This is one of the maps that I was able to obtain before we were counterattacked." She explained. "Specifically, one of the Southern Terriotries." She pointed to one are on the southern edge of the map. "In this region, the explorers found traces of an unusual mineral, a type they couldn't classify."
"I know that area." Jenice commented. "Its said to be the site of one of the earliest human settlements on the planet. Not that anyone has ever found anything."
"I know. But the presence of this unusual mineral in that area is significant." She continued. "Especially as we know it was a center of Hydra activity during the war."
Levisha looked straight at her. "And you think that this mineral is connected to that?"
"It may be." Levisha replied. "Certainly, I feel that it is worth investigating." Because I know that you will leap at anything that my have a connection to Hydra, Jenice.
Jencie looked straight at her. "Levisha? What is up with your eyes?"
She blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry commander." She replied, removing her glasses. She left her right eye shut. "I took a minor hit during the fighting. Nothing severe that you need to worry about."
"Well get yourself cleaned up." Jenice replied. "And when you're done, we'll discuss what you've found."
"Thank you, commander." She replied, and left. Not wasting any time, she walked straight to her quarters. While she did need to get cleaned up, she had other, more pressing concerns. There were people who needed to know about this development.
"Levisha, are you all right?" Sturm asked, passing her on the way to her room. "Your eye-"
"It's nothing, really." She snapped back. "I'm fine, really."
"But-"
She smiled at him. "Ask me that in an hour." She added. "I'm sure I'll be better by then."
Sturm nodded, and walked off. Waiting till he was gone, she stepped into her room, making sure to shut the door behind her. Like most of the other Red Claw 'officers' (She used the term lightly) she had been given a small, cramped single room with an en-suite bathroom. It was nothing on her quarters on Pinnacle, but it was far better then what the grunts got. Not wasting any time, she grabbed a case from under her bed, pulling out her portable computer.
She took it into the bathroom, propping it up on the sink before finally looking up at the mirror and opening her right eye. Looking over it, she could see no damage; it was its normal self. All Floyd had done was dislodge her contact and maybe made it sting a bit. For a moment, she looked at herself, considering how she looked; one eye fiery red, the other neon-green. Not a bad look, she thought. Nicely scary.
She had more contacts, so it wouldn't be a problem. The only real issue was that she didn't want to let the Claw in on her true nature; at least, not yet. So for now, she remained the terrifying red-eyed girl.
Enough of this. I have real work to do. She opened up the computer and switched it on. A minute later (and after passing several security checks, she entered the information that she had gathered from the survey maps. The computer analysed her results, and delivered a conclusion, the one that she had expected.
This is a very interesting development, she thought. Very interesting indeed. There were people who would want to know about this.
oOoOo
Floyd looked over the wreckage of the fish-like Zoid that had been left abandoned in the middle of the battlefield. "Aaah yes. BZ-007 Diploguns, Fishamajig type." He commented. "A free-range flying gun with a boomerang head. Quite a bizarre design, yet rather amusingly efficient."
"So its another Chimera?" Rayvenne asked.
"Oh yes." He replied. "All the Zoids you guys thwacked today, save for that poor Blatar were."
"But I thought that Chimeras were uncontrollable." Jason commented. "They just attacked anything they saw."
"Normally, yes." Floyd explained. "However, these ones were clearly under control of something else. There are certain types of Zoids that can be used to direct the actions of the Chimeras and control them in battle; think of it as being a puppeteer." He glanced over the wreckage. "The machine you saw taking off was a Lord Gale, one such Zoid. Its a freaky, flying scarecrow batwing thing type, but its also very effective. One of those guys can control a veritable swarm of Chimeras."
"And the Claw have one." Althiea replied. "Which means that they could soon drastically expand their ranks." The thought of an army of mindless monsters under the Red Claw's control scared her. Such mahcines would be cruel and merciless, doing whatever their leaders ordered. And she knew what the Red Claw wanted. With those machines under their control, nobody would be safe.
"Yes... it is a problem." Floyd stroked his beard. "I wonder if they know how to..." He trialed off.
"Floyd?" Althiea asked.
"Nothing, really." He replied.
"So why did the Claw attack a Geology Lab?" Jason asked as he examined the wreckage of one of the Shellakrn. "It doesn't make sense for them. I fail to see what they would have gotten out of it."
"Well what about givin' these Chimera thingies a test run?" Leanne asked. "They managed to do a lotta damage with 'em."
"There is that, Lee." Jason commented. "But why here?"
"I think I know." Floyd spoke up. "The lovely Levisha was rather interested in certain maps that a friend of mine was working on. Apparently, he'd found something she was after but bad."
"And that was?" Althiea asked.
"No idea." He commented, then grinned. "But it means we have a lead. Anyone want to find out?"