Hammer Kaiser Scarab

Darklonia Plateau, Dark Continent

1605 Hours

Ebonflak strode into the Scarab's main hanger, looking down at the assembled Zoid forces inside. These were the best that A-X had to offer. He knew that they would be able to achieve their new great task.

"Soldiers of A-X!" He began, speaking to all present in the bay, and the other ships via the comms system. "Your new task is a great and glorious one! You are to attack that black Zoid and disable it. Once we have its power within our control, then we, the secret ideological organisation of A-X will have the ability to rule the world!" He paused for effect. "This will not be an easy task to accomplish and there may be many, many casualties amongst you. However, it is a sacrifice that I am willing to make in order for us to bring order to this corrupt and decadent world!"

He descended into the bay where his own Zoid was waiting. "Oh, Radnor." He began.

"Yes, my lord?" Radnor replied, appearing next to him out of seemingly nowhere.

"What is the status of my Giga God Kaiser?"

"All systems have been repaired and should be fully functional, my lord." The Darth replied.

"Excellent." He climbed up into the cockpit and sealed the hatch. "All troops, prepare to disembark and fight for the glory of our cause!"

The Hammer Kaiser's main bay door opened, the Zoids flooding out onto the landscape. While their forces mostly consisted of Attack and Gravity Zoids, there were a few outstanding exceptions. Behind Ebonflak's Godkaiser was Radnor's Gul Tiger, flying on a set of lift fans mounted on its weapons port, while D'Avella's Iron Kong lead the troops disembarking from the Carnage. And behind Ebonflak's on Zoid was his elite cadere of Cannon Caesars.

Looking around, however, Ebonflak could see one thing. The Havoc, Major Shepard's ship, hadn't put down yet. He wondered what exactly was going on in there.

"Land and deploy the troops?" Shepard yelled. "Is he nuts?"

"But they are our lord's orders." Captain Tweedle replied. "And we must do what Lord Ebonflak orders."

"Forget that." Shepard snapped. "That thing can easily tear apart our ground forces." He looked at the dark Zoid on the monitor. He had no idea what its capabilities were, but he figured that it could tear his Greatsabre apart with no effort. If only he still had his Evil Pegasus, he thought. Maybe, just maybe that Zoid would have stood a chance.

Putting that thought aside, he assessed the situation. A plan began to form in his head, one that may just work. "Captain Tweedle, take us up."

"Up sir?" Tweedle stammered back.

"Yes." He said. "Then deploy all our Gravity Pteras and Glaive Quamas." He turned to Taro. "Move your Sabre Tiger to the Auxiliary launch bay, I want it secured to one of the landing pads and ready to deploy immediately."

"Hai, Kuroso-Sha." He replied.

John eyed him warily. "Have the technicians secure your Zoid to the bay. I want to be able to deploy your cannon in flight. And I want to see if you can get any extra power out of the cannon."

He bowed, and then departed. John watched him go, mentally wondering if he would ever be able to make sense of his comrade's speech and actions. Turning back to the screen, he evaluated the enemy Zoid. It was larger then a Salamander, he figured, with an overall size similar to that of a Deathsaurer. Such a Zoid, he figured, would be neither fast nor agile in flight. It was a weakness that he fully intended to exploit.

Form the cockpit of the Gilvader, De Lyon watched the A-X troops deploy. Just as he had planned, he thought. His analysis of A-X's capabilities and their predicted response to the situation had been spot on, he figured. Now for the next stage of his plan.

He opened up the Gilvader's throttle, climbing away from the few Gravity Pteras and Glaive Quamas behind him, and leaving a flight of Dark Reddlers in the dust. Looping around, the massive Zoid dived towards the A-X forces. Seeing him coming, the enemy troops opened fire. Their weapons fire filled the air, the shots harmlessly flying away from his Zoid. The poor fools, he thought. His Zoid was practically immune to their fire, but he could easily destroy them all. Not that he wanted to.

He flicked a switch on the auxiliary weapons console. Designed to operate the weapons attached to the Gilvader's Grade-Up ports, these controls had been specially modified to suit his needs and one of the devices he had attached to the Zoid. A small light flashed on to show that the sprayer system had been activated and was ready to begin operation.

He sprayer system mounted on the Gilvader's back had originally been used by the Special Operations Unit's sole Storm Tiger. Designed to disperse nanites over a wide area, it had been a vital part of his operation to capture the Gilvader in the first place. When they had adapted it for the new Zoid, its larger frame had allowed them to greatly increase the sprayer's capacity.

As he approached the A-X forces, he could see that they were firmly standing their ground rather then breaking and running. That was just what he wanted. He flicked a switch, activating the sprayer system. The pod on the Gilvader's back began spraying a fine grey mist in its wake, which settled across the A-X forces.

Concentrating, De Lyon reached out with his mind, His nanaite-enhanced consciousness expanded, reaching out through the Gilvader's communications system finding the mass-mind of the nanites now inside the A-X Zoids. Having established a connection, De Lyon seized control of them.

As one, the A-X Zoids stoped moving and firing, instead standing in place, seemingly inert. He imagined that right now, there would be chaos down there, with everyone trying to regain control of their apparently non-functional machines. Reaching out again, he issued them a new command. As one, the army of Zoids turned towards the armoured gates of Novo Zemalya and began marching towards them.

Unfortunately, the doors had not opened, despite what he had planned on. No matter. He had hoped to do this the east way, but he had other ways to get in. The Gilvader swooped down, then stopped, hovering in place in front of the doors. After a moment to prepare, the four plasma cannons in its wings, accompanied by its four gravity cannons and the two drillgin units opened fire.

Cade watched in horror as the city's massive doors crumpled under the black Zoid's attack. For all her life, she'd believed that the iron gates were the city's best, most impenetrable defence. Even the attack by Pie's forces and their Ultrasaurus hadn't shaken that belief. But now…

The black dragon Zoid fired again, the impact felt across the city as the dors were torn apart. Now they were vulnerable, she thought. And that monster is coming straight for us.

"Eisenbeck!" She shouted into her comms headset. "What's going on out there?"

"That… thing has destroyed the gates." He replied, nervously. "The A-X troops seem to be following it now. They're heading straight for the city…"

"I want that thing eliminated." Cade snarled. "I want it taken out by any means necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Colonel." He replied.

Cade knew what she had just asked of them, but she also knew that she had to protect the city, no matter the cost. Turning back to the technician, she handed him back his headset. "Scramble all the Reddler forces to intercept that thing. Order all troops to prepare for immediate deployment to the old city." She paused. "And have the civilians prepare for evacuation to the shelters."

The Dark Reddler dived towards the enemy Zoid, its wingmen close behind it. Compared to them, it was similar in shape but far, for more massive. Lining it up in his sights, Eisenbeck opened fire with the twin back mounted cannons. Much to his surprise, the enemy Zoid rolled out of the way of the beams, then pulled into a steep climb.

Well two can play at that game, he thought. Eisenbeck followed him, pulling the Reddler into a near vertical climb and activating the boosters. He figured he could easily catch it; the Dark Reddler was faster then a normal Reddler, and he was using the boosters.

Instead, much to his surprise, the enemy Zoid accelerated, climbing even further away. Then, reaching the peak of its climb, it suddenly looped around and dived back at him. He veered out of the way, expecting a volley of fire enough to obliterate him and his machine. Instead, however, there was nothing save for a cloud of grey mist that followed in its wake.

He looped the Reddler around to follow the enemy, only to find it veering off course and heading towards the city, while reducing speed. He quickly checked the status board, only to find that everything was reading as normal. Confused, he opened up the throttle to return to the engagement.

Nothing. The Reddler continued its speed and course, ignoring the controls. He pulled the control stick sharply to the right, but there was no response. He wasn't even feeling anything through the neural link, he realised. It was as if he was locked out.

Looking over his shoulder, he could see the rest of his squad following him. Pressing a few buttons, he tried his communications system. That, at least, seemed to work. "This is Eisenbek." He began. "Can anyone here control their Zoid?" There was a chorus of 'nos' from the rest of the squad. They had been locked out.

He re-opened the link to the command centre. "Colonel, the enemy has a weapon that can take control of our Zoids." He began. "Do not attempt to engage, repeat do not attempt to engage."

Cade stared at the display screen. The enemy had a way to take control of their Zoids now. If she ordered their forces to engage them… it'd do more harm then good. They were trapped. "Order a full lock-down of the city. Seal all entrances to the lower city. Recall all the Reddlers that can respond, and have them moved to the stand-by hangers immediately. And do not allow any of our troops to engage."

"Captain Magyari's unit is still outside the city." The Tech replied. "If we seal off the city now then…"

Damn it, she thought. She knew what he was saying. He knew who was in that unit. No. The city must be protected, whatever the cost. "I know that." She said. "But it can't be helped. If we let the enemy get control of our Zoids inside the city, then all is lost. This way we may be able to ride it out."

"Yes, colonel." The tech replied.

I'm sorry, Bekka, she thought to herself. I have a duty to protect thousands of people. I can't put them aside for just one person. My only hope is that you will be able to forgive me some day.

"So do you think we're at the city yet?" Rick asked.

Before anyone could reply, the entire ship shook as if it was hit, sending the three of them sprawling across their tiny cell. "Good call." Vic replied.

For a moment there was nothing. Then Sandra raised her hand. "Quiet guys." She said as she moved over to the door. The eyeslot was closed, but she could hear sounds outside. People running. Shouting. Sirens. "We're under attack."

"I guess the locals aren't too happy to see us." Rick said.

"Is anybody?" Sandra replied. "I mean, everywhere we go there's generally some tool trying to take a shot at us or lock us up."

"Maybe they just don't know us." Rick said, casually shrugging.

"Maybe they know us too well." Sandra replied, flatly. "Now be quiet. I'm trying to figure out what's going-"

Before she could finish the sentence, the whole ship lurched forwards, sending everyone across the cell again. "What lousy miserable tool is driving this frelling ship?" Sandra shouted. "When I get my frelling hands on him I'll-"

"It's here." Vic suddenly said.

"What?" Both Sandra and Rick spoke at once. That was unusual, even for her.

"It's here." She repeated. "The god of the black flames. He's come for me."

At 283 meters long and weighing thousands of tons, the Whale King is neither fast, nor agile. It took a considerable amount of time for captain Tweedle to bring the ship around so he was now behind where the A-X fleet had put down.

The news from the ground was disturbing. Everybody's Zoids, as well as the ships, seemed to have been taken over by some weapon used by the mysterious attacker. All of a sudden, his plan to stay in the air rather then put down seemed to have paid. Off. Now for the execution.

"Launch the Gravity Pteras now!" He shouted. "Tell them to occupy the enemy Zoid so we can strike."

"Yes, Major." Captain Tweedle replied.

John had figured that the slow and clumsy Gravity Pteras wouldn't stand a chance against that monster, but he at least figured that they could distract it for a while before being torn apart. And that could be long enough. No sooner had the Gravity Pteras launched then he picked up the communicator. "Taro, this is Shepard." He began. "What's your status?"

"My Zoid is secured, So- uh, Major." He began. "I am ready to begin the operation."

"Excellent." He replied, then turned to Tweedle. "Open the Auxiliary platform."

Anyone viewing the ship form the outside would have been treated to the unlikely sight of the ships' aft launch bay lowering with a Zoid hanging from it. The bright red Sabre Tiger, equipped with a heavy beam cannon, blended in with the dark red of the ship's hull, but still was enough to stand out.

As john watched on the screen, he could see the enemy Zoid slice through one of the Gravity Pteras with its wing blade. Good. They were holding its attention for just long enough. "What's your status, Taro?" He spoke into the communicator.

"I am ready to fire, Major." He replied.

"Excellent. Fire at will."

A beam of energy shot out form the underside of the ship, flying straight at the enemy Zoid. However, at the last possible moment the beam reflected away from its body, bending away to the right and impaling one of the remaining Pteras. Momentarily stunned, John recovered quickly, grabbing the communicator. "What the hell happened there, Taro?" He demanded,

"I do not know, Major." He replied. "It's not an energy shield, that's for certain."

"Well fire again!" He shouted. "Maybe we can break through… whatever it is!"

Before Taro could reply, however, the enemy Zoid suddenly went into a rapid vertical climb, far faster the any machine of its size should have been able to move. "Track it!" He shouted. "Don't loose it!"

"All gunners, open fire now!" Tweedle shouted. Across the ships hull, numerous secondary cannons opened fire, filling the air around the enemy Zoid with cannon fire to no avail. The few shots that seemed to come close were deflected away in the same way that the Sabre Tiger's beam had. Then it went silent.

"What happened?" John asked.

"It fell off our scopes." Tweedle replied. "I didn't expect it to move that fast."

John looked around. "Retract the Sabre Tiger now!" He shouted. "All hands, brace for impact!"

"Just you wait a minute!" Tweedle shouted. "This is my ship. I make the decisions and I give the orders. Who do you-"

Before he could finish the entire ship was rocked by a thunderous explosion that sent people flying across the bridge. Sirens went off in the bridge and everywhere else as the ship began to list to one side. "What's ha-" John began, but was cut off by a hideous metallic screeching noise that rang through the entire ship.

Tweedle picked himself up the floor, pulling himself up on a status board. "Oh hell." He began. "This is not good."

"What is it?" John asked, leaning on the side of a chair.

"That… thing just cut us open from nose to stern." He replied in a panicky tone. "We're going down!"

John looked out the front viewscreen. The massive artificial mesa that protected the city was looming up in front of them. Which meant that if they didn't do anything, they'd end up ramming into its side. "How much control do we have, Tweedle?"

"Very little." The captain replied. "We can steer a bit, but no way are we staying airborne with what we've been through."

"That's good enough." He stated. He had a plan, one that just might work. "Steer the ship towards the doorway in the side of the mountain." The black Zoid had demolished the massive metal doors, and now the former A-X forces were marching towards the empty gap where they once stood. "Once inside, put us down as best you can."

"Yes major." Tweedle said, stammering. "I'll do the best I can."

"And order all pilots to report to the Zoid bays." Shepard continued as he turned to leave the bridge. "We may need them."

Sandra and Rick were sent sprawling across the cell again, while Vic just leaned against the wall. For the last few minutes she'd been like that, Sandra thought. Just standing and staring, while saying things that were, by her standards, weird.

Before they could begin to pick themselves up, there was a hideous metallic tearing noise, increasing in pitch as it continued. They both clutched their ears and gritted their teeth to block out the noise, which seemed to be coming from just outside the cell. Vic, on the other hand, just stood there and grinned.

"What-" Rick began. "What is that?"

"It's insanely powerful you know." Vic replied. "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight?"

The shrieking ended and, for a moment, all was peaceful. Then the ship suddenly listed to one side while the lights flickered on and off, sending Rick and Sandra sprawling again. "I am so frelling sick of this." Sandra began, when Rick cut her off.

"Hey, the door's open." He began.

Sandra stood and looked up. The door was indeed open; the magnetic lock must have disengaged at some stage when the power momentarily went out. "Tool. Well, let's not miss this chance."

She cautiously stepped outside. She could hear various sirens and alarms as well as feet running in the distance, but there was no sign of anyone around. Much to her surprise, however, she could feel a breeze on her face. Turning around, she could see where it was coming from.

There was a gash through the far wall of the corridor, on the other side form their cell. Something had cut through the ship's hull, reaching so far in that it had nearly cut into their own cell. A few meters closer and… she shuddered at the thought.

"That doesn't look good." Rick said, and whistled. "Any idea what could have done that?"

Sandra glanced at Vic, who was casually leaning against the torn wall. "No, none at all. And I don't intend to find out. She looked around. "Our best chance is to make it to the Zoid bay and try to figure things from there. If this ship is going down - which I suspect it is - we may be able to use it as our chance to get out of here."

The three of them ran towards what they guessed was the front end of the ship. Sandra had figured that if their Zoids were anywhere, they were likely in the forwards main Zoids bay. Of course, by now everyone would be there, which would probably make things interesting, But there was no way, Sandra thought, that she was going to let some A-X tool get behind the wheel in Spud. He deserved better then that.

A pair of surprised guards went down to her and Vic's attacks before they could respond, yielding them some firearms. Sandra let Rick and Vic take their X-S rifles, she figured that between Vic's incredible aim and Rick's stupid luck, they could probably hit something with them. Sandra just stuck with their pistols. They weren't a patch on what she usually carried, but they'd have to do.

Entering the main bay confirmed her suspicions. Enemy pilots were swarming all over the place, boarding and prepping their Zoids for combat. For the most part, the bays occupants seemed to be Gravity and Attack Zoids, but four others caught her eye. Spud, Rick's Command Wolf, Vic's Gunsniper and a red-and-black Greatsabre stood in one corner of the bay, with a conspicuously empty spot next to them. Sandra guessed that it would normally be occupied by the heavy beam cannon carrying Sabre Tiger she'd seen at Lazwegaz.

"Looks like we've found our rides." Rick said. "And they've even validated our parking."

"Let's go." Sandra ordered. He three of them descended from the gantry and climbed down to the bay proper. "Nobody movie!" Sandra shouted as she leaped off the stairs, a pistol in each hand. Behind her, Rick and Vic pointed their rifles at a group of enemy pilots. At these ranges and with the enemy this packed, she thought, those guns may actually be worth something. "Put them down!" She yelled. "Now!"

The enemy troops began to back off, several of them kneeling slowly. "Reach for the sky, boys!" Rick shouted, trying his best to sound like an escapee form a bad action flick. "Or else it's lead linings for all of you."

"Heh. Bang." Vic added, almost giggling again.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice came form behind her. Sandra spun around, to find herself face to face with Major Shepherd. Her guns were pointed at his face, his gun at hers.

"We're getting out of here." Sandra replied. "And we're taking back the Zoids you took from us."

Shepard glared at her for a moment, before speaking. "In a few minutes, this ship is going to make an emergency landing." He began. "Then we're likely going to be swarmed by my former allies as well as that monster. And that's to say nothing of what the locals might throw at us."

"All the more reason to let us take them." Sandra replied. "We've got far more experience with these particular Zoids then any of you tools." She indicated towards the Liger with a flick of her head. "That Liger has a lot of personality. I doubt if any of your garbage truck drivers could keep him completely under control."

"Fine." He said, and lowered his pistol. "I remember the way you fought at Lazwegas. If that's normal for you, then we'll need every bit of it."

"We're far from normal." Rick said. Sandra rolled her eye, while Vic sniggered.

John stepped past her, heading for the Greatsaber. "One thing," he said as he passed. "You don't have any idea what that monster is?"

"What monster?" Rick asked.

"The big black dragon Zoid that's attacking our fleet." John replied. "I was wondering if it was some weapon used by these people."

"I doubt it." Sandra said. "And they probably wouldn't have shown us it even if it was theirs."

"So you don't know anything about it?" He asked.

"Oh I do." Vic said. "It's the one who killed me."

John stopped in his tracks. "What did she say?"

"She's been like that for a while." Sandra said, indicating to Vic who was climbing into her Gunsniper. "Well, that is to say she's always weird, but she's been even weirder of late. Since… well, since you took us onboard this ship, really."

"No, I mean about that creature." He continued. "Have you seen it before?" He asked.

"Maybe." She replied.

"Is it what attacked and destroyed Captain Buckingham's squadron?" He asked. "You were the only survivor of that unit."

"What's this?" Sandra asked.

Before John could reply, a voice shouted out over the speakers. "All hands! Brace for impact!"

De Lyon watched as the damaged Whale King fell towards the city. While he hadn't originally intended to destroy it, their attacking him had forced yet another change in his plans. Besides, he already had enough ships, and gutting it with the Gilvader's wing blades had been quite… enjoyable. Yes, that was the word.

He reached out to the collective minds of the A-X Zoids to issue them new orders. "All Dimantis and Gravity Ptera units re to come with me." He began. "The rest are to enter the city and destroy any enemy Zoids you find." That should keep everyone busy for a while. "All ships are to lift off and await my instructions."

A bleep from the sensors informed him of a bunch of new contacts appearing. Checking his sensors, he identified them as a Deadborder, a Darkhorn ad a trio of Heldigunners. Probably a group from the military who were on patrol and had now been cut off. He briefly considered seizing control of his units, but a check of the sprayer's status board showed him that the tanks were almost empty. No, best to save what he had for the next stage of the plan. He may yet need it. Besides, they couldn't do anything to him from there.

The Gilvader soared up to above the city, Demantis and Gravity Pteras following it.

If she was any less determined, Sel would have been surprised, possibly even shocked by what she was seeing. The huge iron doors that had protected Novo Zemalya for centuries, if not millennia, had been destroyed. A damaged Whale King was falling towards them, smoke billowing from a gash in its side. Behind it was a horde of various Zoids, apparently following it into the city. Another three Whale Kings, a Hammer Kaiser and two Whale Sharks were hanging over the city. And a huge black Zoid was in the middle of it all.

"Captain?" It was Alex, sounding more then a little uncertain. "What's going on."

"I don't know." She replied, her eyes fixed on the dark Zoid hanging over the city. "I can't raise anyone inside. It's possible I'm being jammed, however."

"I hope so." Alex replied. For a moment, he was quiet, then he spoke up. "Y'know, I thought I was ready for anything after seeing the real world, hanging around with Vic and the others and all that. But now…"

"I think we all feel like that." Sel replied. "We're just not good with the unexpected." She'd half expected something form Matt at this point, but there was nothing.

Instead, she opened a channel to the entire squad. "Listen up, men. The city is under attack by an unknown force. The main gates have been breached, and we cannot raise anyone inside the city. We are going to launch an attack on the enemy's flank and try to break through to the city itself. Hopefully, we can break through to our own forces."

She opened up the Darkhorn's throttle and charged towards the enemy force. Behind her, the rest of the squad followed. They're good men, she thought. I only hope they can make it through this.

"Ride the piggy!"

Vic whooped as the Whale King slammed into the ground, furrowing into the hard pavement of the city's main street. Inside the bay, men and equipment were thrown around while the Zoids rocked on their secure tie-downs. The wail of sirens all but drowned out the horrible screeching sounds of the Whale King digging into the ground as it went. After a short eternity, the ship ground to a halt.

Looking around the bay, Sandra could see a mess of damaged equipment, dazed and wounded men and a few Zoids that had broken partially lose of their moorings. However, for the most part, everything seemed intact. Seemed.

"Move out!" Shepard shouted over his Zoid's PA system. The ties containing her Zoid, and all the others, were released, allowing them to move. The main bay opened, indicating that at least some of the systems on the ship were functioning. His Greatsaber ran out of the bay, a flurry of smaller Zoids following it.

"What's the plan, Sandra?" Rick asked.

"Plan?" She said. "First thing we do is we get out of here. This flying crapbox is going to become an easy target for the zillion or so tools outside. Then we try to find Sel or someone else in authority and try to figure out what's going on."

"It's the end of everything!" Vic shouted rather cheerily. "Hooray!"

"Right." Sandra muttered. Cautiously, she guided the Shield Liger out of the ship, the Command Wolf warily following it, while the Gunsniper seemed to be skipping along almost merrily. No, something was not right here, Sandra thought. More so then usual.

Rick interrupted her train of thought with a loud whistle. "Take a look at that." He said, the Command Wolf's head looking up. Looking around, Sandra found what he was talking about. There was a huge gash torn along the length of the Whale King's hull. She couldn't begin to imagine what could have done that.

"Tool." She muttered. "What are we up against?"

"Never mind that!" Rick shouted. "We've got bad guys incoming!"

Looking down at her scope, Sandra could see that it was crawling with blips closing in from all sides. All of them registered on her system as hostile, she realised. "Great." She muttered. "How do we tell Shepard's tools form the rest of the tools?"

"Kill 'em all." Vic replied. "Let Bob sort 'em out."

"I guess the best plan is to assume that they're friendly if they don't instantly shoot at us." Rick replied. "And just assume that the two Saberkitties are on our side for the moment."

"That's fair." Sandra replied as a pair of Gravity Saix emerged from around the side of the Whale King's hull. "So who are you two tools with?"

"Don't shoot us!" One of them yelled over his PA system.

"Yeah! We can't control our Zoids!" The other one added. Before either pilot could say anything further, both Saix broke into runs, coming straight for Sandra's Zoid.

Opening up the throttle, Sandra leaped to one side of the Saix's charge, firing the back cannons as she went. The shots struck it on its flank, just as a second volley from Rick knocked it down. The second Saix had more luck however. Leaping over the back of its downed comrade, it all but landed on the Shield Liger. Desperately backpedalling, Sandra threw up the energy shield to keep it at bay.

The enemy zoid growled at herm and then launched the large, sword like missile that was mounted on its back at near point-blank range. Much to Sandra's surprise, rather then exploding the missile tore into the shield like a blade. Before the Saix could follow up, however, it was staggered by a volley of hits from the Gunsniper. Before it could get up, Vic leaped at it, digging her own Zoid's claws into its neck.

"Kitty, kitty." Vic hissed. "Meow."

"They're none to smart, are they?" Rick said as he checked the Saix he'd disabled.

"They're probably being remotely controlled from somewhere." Sandra replied. "Or run by some sort of AI system. They can fight, they just don't respond well and probably can't handle more then one opponent at a time."

"Shouldn't we try to rescue the pilots then?" Rick asked. "After all, they are kinda trapped in their own machines."

"They're A-X tools, unless you'd forgotten." Sandra replied. "They probably would be trying to kill us anyway."

"That's fair then." Rick added. "No sense in wor- Incoming!"

The three of them scattered as a volley of missiles tore up the pavement and a few nearby buildings. Looking towards the source of the attack, Sandra spied a trio of Gravity Saurers, accompanied by numerous other attack Zoids and a Cannon Ceaser. Definitely more then they could handle at any one given time.

"New plan!" She shouted. "Get the frelling hell out of here!"

The three Zoids turned and ran off in different directions before their enemies could respond. "So what do we do now?" Rick shouted over the com link.

"Try to stay alive!" Sandra shouted back. "We'll think of a plan when we're not outnumbered four to one."

"You should try dying some time." Vic added. "Its all together a unique experience."

Sandra didn't even want to know what she meant by that one.

Pants sat in his control seat, quietly hoping that something, no anything would happen. He'd spent the last zillion days cramped up inside this metal hellhole on hoverskirts with a group of raving madmen who were all doing their best to drive him nuts. If not for the fact that his vengeance relied on him finding Rick first, he would have given up and gone home long ago. As it stood, he had to complete his mission.

To his surprise, it was Reven, probably the second most annoying of all his passengers, who broke the tedium. It was her turn as the pathfinder, something he was glad of. It meant that she wasn't in here and making his life a misery.

"Uh, guys." She began, surprisingly apprehensively. "I think they've arrived at their destination."

"You think?" Anna began, standing next to him at the command station. He hated it when she loomed over him, which was something she did rather option. "What's happening there, Reven?"

"Weeeeeell…" She began. "Their fleet arrived at a mesa and were attacked by a big black dragon Zoid that I didn't recognise. It chopped up one of the Whale Sharks and then gutted the Whale King they were on, which has now crashed inside the mesa - oh, did I mention that there was a door in the side of the mesa? I say was because the big black dragon thing blew its doors off, so now the Whale King has gone down inside it and there's now a zillion odd Zoids charging inside the mesa for heaven alone knows what reason."

There was a long, long pause.

"What!" She yelled.

"That's…" Anna began. "Its not what I had expected."

"But the ship they're on has gone inside the mesa." Pants said. "And you didn't see them leave it or anything like that before it went in?"

"No." She replied. "Which means that they're probably inside." She added in a tone that suggested she was talking to a chid.

"Right." Pants said. "Everyone, get ready to launch. Z-One, I want you out first to provide additional air cover. Hook up with Reven and try to clear us a path through their forces. Once we're in, establish e defensive perimeter around the Hovercargo and begin a sweep of the area." Everyone stood staring at him. "Well? What are you waiting for? GO!"

Pants watched as they scurried away. Soon, he thought. As soon as he had fought his way into the enemy base, breached their lines, located Rick, bought him back, fought off the remaining enemy Zoids and arranged a suitable venue, he would have his vengeance.

"You'll see!" He shouted to himself. "You'll all see!" He burst out laughing, and then stopped when he realised that everyone was looking at him. "What?"

The Hovercargo literally smashed through the rear lines of the enemy force, the enemy Zoids in its path either knocked aside or crushed underneath it. Undeterred, it continued on its path into the city, only stopping once it reached the Whale King. Once there, it began the process of unloading the Zoids onboard; a process slowed by all of them being too big and heavy to be launched off the top catapult. Stuart's Dibison was the first out, immediately charging into battle the instant it hit the ground.

"Stuart, wait-" Anna shouted as she watched the Dibison charge off. No, there wasn't much point to trying to keep him under control, she thought. She'd tried in past and it had rarely worked, and it certainly wasn't going to be of any use now, after he'd been cooped up onboard the Hovercargo for so long.

The Redhorn leaped off the ramp, immediately coming under attack by a Gravity Saurer. Several shots dig into the Redhorn's flank, doing little more then armour damage. Slewing the main cannon around, Anna riddled it with fire from the various weapons mounted on her Zoid's back. The Gravity Saurer staggered, severely damaged by not out of action.

Much to her surprise, rather then retreating after a volley like that, it charged straight at her. Seeing no better option, Anna turned into its path, meeting it head on with her Redhorn's reinforced front end. The Gravity Saurer was tossed aside, one leg torn from its mounting. Looking down at it, it seemed to be inert, its control system having probably frozen.

"Why did he charge at me when he knew that would happen?" She asked herself. "Who are these people?"

"A-X soldiers, from the looks of things." Felix replied as his Black Rhimos stepped off the Launch ramp. "They're terrorists, but they're not that fanatical or stupid."

Anna was about to ask how he knew that, when another volley of fire tore up the ground near her Zoid. Tuning to the source of the attack, she could see a lone Diloforce standing nearby, hissing at the pair of them. Before it could fire again, a pair of blasts from the Rhimos' main cannons knocked it out of action.

"Check this out." Felix said as the Rhimos walked over to the downed Zoid. "There was no pilot on that thing."

"What?" Anna asked.

"Yup." Felix replied. "Either he got off before the Zoid attacked us, or the Zoid was being run by remote control."

"Interesting." Anna commented. "I wonder-"

"Look out!" Felix shouted. Glancing around, Anna could see a Cannon Caesar emerge from behind the Hovercargo. Wasting no time, she opened up the throttle on the Redhorn, steering away from the enemy Zoid while opening fire with her beam gattling cannon. The fire raked the side of the Cannon Caesar, which replied with its back mounted dual cannon pod. The shots hit the Redhorn in is already damaged flank, shaking Anna around in the cockpit.

Before the enemy Zoid could follow up, Felix's Rhimos opened fire with its dual cannons, tearing armour from its hip and flank. As if momentarily confused, the enemy Zoid turned towards the Rhimos and then back to the Redhorn, the pilot apparently unsure about what to do next.

Before it could attack, however, a burst of weapons fire hit it in the back, sending it sprawling forwards. Using this opportunity, Anna opened fire on it along with Felix. The enemy Zoid shook under numerous impacts, before finally collapsing and remaining inert.

"Thanks for that-" Anna began, but then stopped as she saw the Zoid stepping out form behind the downed Cannon Caesar. It resembled her Redhorn, but was black with green eyes that glowed in the darkness. A Darkhorn, she thought. What is it doing here?

"Who are you?" A female voice came form the Darkhorn's PA system. "And what are you doing in my city?"

"We came here looking for some friends who have been kidnapped." Anna replied. 'We didn't expect to find this... place." She looked around fir the first time taking in what she was seeing. They were inside a ruined city, which was, in turn, inside a massive cavern. What is this place, she asked herself.

"Who are they?" The Darkhorn pilot asked.

"Three mercenaries we work with." Anna replied. "Sandra Blackmore, Rick Mortis and Vic Hagen-"

"You're a friend of Sandra's?" She seemed surprised by this. "And they're here?"

"We think so." Anna replied. "They were on that Whale King." She indicated towards the downed ship. "But we have no idea where they are now."

"Right." The woman replied. "I'll get my men to search the city. You two should stay with me for the moment. Are there any others with you?"

"There's a Dibison, a Storm Sworder and a Sinker." She replied. "And a -"

She paused. What the hell was Pants piloting anyway?

Rick's Command Wolf loped through the rubble-strewn streets, nimbly jumping around debris and obstacles. Swerving to the right, he ducked behind a part-ruined building and waited. Within moments, a pair of attack Zoids appeared, a Guntiger and a Saberlion, both charging at him. Popping up the cannons over the wall, Rick opened fire from behind cover. The Guntiger was hit and went down instantly, but the Saberlion managed to leap past his attack.

Landing in front of the Command Wolf, the Saberlion snarled before pouncing on the larger Zoid. Rick veered out of the way, and then snapped at the Saberlion, grabbing its rear leg in the Wolf's jaws. Thrown off by the added weight of the Wolf, the Saberlion crashed to the ground, its leg bent badly out of shape.

"That was close." He began, but a warning from the sensors cut him off. A pair of shots went past the Zoid, blowing chunks out of the wall he had been hiding behind. Looking around, he could see the source of the attack. A pair of Maccurtis, transformed into their weapon platform modes, had taken up positions on top of a pile of rubble.

Opening up the command Wolf's throttle, he skipped out of the way of their fire. Before he could reply, however, they continued their attack, pinning his Wolf down. I can't stop long enough to fire back, he thought. Clever. Rick's usual strategy relied on running, firing and running again, but these two were doing well to counter him.

Suddenly, the ground underneath the two Maccurits began to move. One of them stumbled down the mound as a sleek, black and green Heldigunner emerged from the rubble. Before either of them could respond, the Heldigunner opened fire on the downed Maccurtis, gutting it with a volley of fire to its weak underside. The second one turned to face it, only to be taken out by Rick's cannons.

"Funny seeing you here." A female voice came from the Heldigunner's cockpit.

Rick blinked for a second. "Bekka? Is that you."

"Yup." She replied. "Who else would it be?"

"Well..." He began, but couldn't think of a snappy comeback. "Its, uh, good to see you."

"You too." She replied. "So, as I was saying, what are you doing here?"

Before Rick could reply, another familiar voice interrupted him. "Rick R. Mortis, I have found you! Prepare for my vengeance!" The pair of them turned to see a rather unlikely sight. Advancing through the rubble was a black and silver Malder, equipped with what appeared to be a pair of Gojulas Supercannons, one on each side of its shell.

"Oh, hi Pants." Rick casually replied. "Funny you being here."

There was a pause. "Yes well..." Pants began. "I followed you here, Rick!" He shouted. "So I could get my vengeance on you for all you did to me!"

"Who is this nut?" Bekka asked.

"Darth Pants, my arch enemy." Rick explained. "He interrupted our baseball game back in Bed Springs, remember?"

"Oh yeah." She replied. "I remember now."

"...anyway, I have come for my vengeance with this, my latest ultimate creation..." he began, and then paused, "The Mighty, Mighty Malder!"

"That's a lot of hyperbole." Rick said. "But I can't fight you right now."

"And why not?" Pants shouted, angrily.

"Because, there's a lot of hostile enemy Zoids around all trying to kill us." Rick explained. "And they're attacking her home." The wolf indicated to the Heldigunner. "And I've got to stop them."

"Fine." Pants replied. "But as soon as we have defeated the enemy, then it will be time for my vengeance."

"Is he always like this?" Bekka asked.

"Yep." Rick replied. "You get used to it after a while."

"A while?" She asked. "How often does he doe this?"

"Every couple of months or so." Rick replied. "I think this is the fourth time now."

"Fourth?" She asked. "Don't you ever get sick of it? I mean, I could whack him for you if you wanted."

"Naw, its kinda fun." He replied. "Besides, we've got other things to worry about now."

"Why is it always me?" Sandra asked herself. "Why do I always seem to attract the weirdoes?" A blast from the Gul Tiger pursuing her seemed to punctuate the point. Skewing the Liger to one side, she ducked away form the blast before running off at speed. "Bog off, tool fairy!"

The Gul Tiger, clearly not wanting to give up its prey, followed after her, managing to closely tail the Shield Liger in the narrow confines of the ruined city. Sandra wished that she could remember more of the layout form the last time she fought in here. She tried to keep an eye out for familiar landmarks, but so much of the city seemed the same; drab grey concrete ruins.

On he right, something caught her attention; an onramp to a section of elevated roadway. She remembered this from her last visit there. It was form here that she had first spotted Vic in the Deathsaurer. Veering the Liger onto the entrance ramp, she charged up onto the highway. The Gultiger followed her, its short legs shuffling around for a firm grip on the roadway. Seeing an opportunity, Sandra fired several shots form her tail cannon at the Gultiger. The bright yellow Zoid dodged out of the way, and continued the chase.

Sandra spotted something ahead, and smiled to herself. Even thought the Gultiger was faster then her Liger, its short legs reduced its mobility somewhat. Like the Zeekdober, it was built for speed and precious little else. Spotting a gap in the road where an overpass had collapsed, Sandra opened up the throttle and charged straight at it, leaping at the last moment. The Liger soared across the gap, barely making a safe landing on the other side. "Lets see the tool make that," she said to herself.

The Gul Tiger took a running leap, and then stopped in mid-air as the hover-fans on its back kicked in. Looking like nothing so much as a kitten being held by the scruff of its neck, the Gul Tiger continued the chase after her. Well, so much for that plan, she thought. It had achieved nothing, save for making the Gultiger look sillier then it had before.

Leaping off at the next exit, she took the Liger around a city block in a tight circle, hoping to loose her pursuer. Instead, a missile detonating just near her indicated that, while the Gul Tiger had vanished, she'd picked up a pair of new ones. A pair of Glavie Quamas swooped down behind her, trying to close the distance to her Zoid.

"Now I know what Shepherd meant about their pilots." She muttered. Normally it would take a very brave or incredibly skilled pilot to fly a Zoid inside a city like this. The fact that right now the pilots weren't able to control their Zoids meant that they probably had little, if any, regard for their own safety.

The opened fire with the back cannon turret, spraying shots at the pair of them. She didn't hit, but it was enough for them to have to move and loose their best shot at her. She fired again at them, this time the shots going high. The two Zoids ducked to dodge her fire, coming closer to the street level.

"Perfect." The Liger ducked under the highway overpass it had been travelling over beforehand. Designed to allow Zoids to pass underneath it, there was more then enough room for her to go under. One of the Glave Quamas, its AI (or whatever) too focussed on chasing her, didn't make the distinction and ploughed straight into the side of the overpass, crashing through the other side and hitting the ground, its wings and body a tangled mess. The other one, however, was luckier, passing straight over its damaged counterpart.

"Tool." She muttered. "Still got to get this guy off my date."

As if in reply to her cursing, the Glave Quama suddenly broke away. Looking up, Sandra saw weapons fire coming form some sort of flying Zoid that was chasing it. Wondering what it was, she saw a brief glimpse of her rescuer as it passed.

"A Sinker?" she wondered. "What's it doing here?"

A warning bleep from the sensors yanked her attention back to the current situation. A Cannon Caesar stepped out right in front of her, opening fire with its head and back mounted weapons. Sandra desperately threw the shield up, but not before the Liger took several hits that sent it sprawling. Thrown against the side of the cockpit, Sandra fought to keep the Liger upright before it could attack again. While she was far faster then it was, she knew it carried more weaponry and armour.

Before the Cannon Caesar could attack again, a loud roar came from the other side of the rubble-strewn intersection. A black and green Zoid emerged form the darkness, snarling at the enemy machine. A Deadborder, she thought. Never thought I'd be actually glad to see one of those. Usually when Dark Zoids showed up, things went bad for Sandra. This time was proving to be a pleasant exception.

The Deadborder slowly stomped towards the Cannon Caesar, the two Zoids roaring at each other. The Cannon Caesar suddenly charged, only to receive a full volley of fire form the Deadborder in the face. Badly damaged, it swayed on its feet before collapsing. Moving in, the Deadborder approached it, but before it could close, the Caesar rolled back upright, and tried to strike at the Deadborder with its jaws.

"No you don't!" Sandra yelled. Leaping up, the Liger opened fire with its two heavy beam cannons, tearing into the armour and digging deep into the Caesar's damaged hip. Weakened, the Zoid was unprepared for the Deadborder's attack. The Dark Zoid snapped its mouth shut on the Caesar's neck, disabling the enemy Zoid. For a moment, it held it in place, and then dropped its limp body.

"You okay there?" Matts voice asked over the Deadborder's PA system.

Sandra nodded. "Yes, thanks." She replied, somewhat taken back by the savagery of the Deadborder's assault.

"I didn't expect to see you here." He explained. "But when I saw a Shield Liger fighting an enemy Zoid, I somehow guessed it was you."

"It's a long and involved story." Sandra replied. "But the short answer is that not everything here is hostile."

"How so?"

This should be a good one to explain, she thought. "A-X were coming t attack the city or sign a peace treaty or something like that, but instead were ambushed by a huge black Zoid. Somehow, something, possibly that Zoid, took control of most of their own Zoids, and has launched a full-scale attack on the city."

"I saw that Zoid outside." Matt replied. "It's like nothing I've ever seen."

"Me neither." She said. "But there are some A-X guys here on our side. There's a pair of Sabre Tigers, one black and one red, which are piloted by two of their top officers. Last I saw they were still with us. The rest have Attack or Gravity Zoids, so they probably haven't lasted too long against superior numbers."

"So how do we tell what's hostile or not?" Matt asked.

"Best way is to-" Sandra said, but before she could finish there was a loud explosion that seemed to rock the whole cavern. One of the massive lights that provided the illusion of daytime fell from the roof, smashing to the ground near the pair of them. "What was that!" She suddenly yelled.

"I don't know." Matt replied. "But it might be best if we find the others as soon as possible."

De Lyon looked down at the burning craters on the top of the artificial mountain. The Gilvader's weapons had proven to be more then even he had hoped for, capable of defeating the massive gates that had protected Novo Zemalya from attack for centuries. Now they would be his key into the city's heart, allowing to take what he wanted.

The Black Zoid reared up, its wings flapping to hold it into place as it charged its weapons. Ready to fire, it dived down to bring all its weapons to bear. The two twin plasma cannons, four gravity cannons and the drillgin units pulverized rock and super-hardened ferrocrete into dust, revealing the city below.

Looking down onto the now exposed city, he could see what he wanted, the objective that he had started all this over. It was now within his grasp. Sending a command to the Demantis units under his control, he ordered them to descend into the city. The next stage of the plan was underway.

John wheeled his Greatsaber around, firing on the attacking Gravity Saurer as he went. The shots form his weapons dug into its side and hip, crippling it and giving him enough time to strike. Leaping at it, he dug the Sabre's fangs into its neck, crushing the systems within and all but decapitating the Zoid. That's one less to deal with, he thought.

The reports he'd been getting from his men weren't looking good. The enemy-controlled Zoids outnumbered his men at least four to one. To make it worse, his troops had no way of knowing if they were hostile unless they opened fire on them first, which meant that many of his solders were being taken out before they could fire back. Additionally, the enemy machines were fighting with suicidal disregard orf their pilots safety, making them that much more dangerous. Form what he'd put together, his own force was nearly done for.

Shaking loose the wrecked Zoid, he was about to move on when a missile struck his Zoid from behind, sending it stumbling forwards. A second Gravity Saurer had moved in on him while he was taking out the first. Before it could follow up its attack, however, a volley of beam weapons struck it on its flank. Turning to the source of the attack, he could see Hagen's Gunsniper charging at it, firing wildly. The Gunsniper sent enough ordinance into the Gravity Saurer to knock it out of action, and then kept going.

The smaller Zoid leapt on the downed Gravty Saurer, digging its claws and teeth into the wrecked Zoid's flanks. The Gunsiper tore out chunks of machinery in its teeth and then flung them aside in a terrifying, almost primal display of rage.

"Hagen!" He shouted over the comms link. This may be his last chance to learn the truth of what happened.

"What?" She replied, a twisted grin on her face, her pupils seemingly shrunken to dots.

"What happened to Desmond and the others!" He shouted. "Tell me, I need to know!"

"I did." She replied, her voice almost a whisper.

She did? What did she mean by that? And then he realised what it was. His assessment of her he'd made for Desmond was based on the service record of Victoria Hagen, a young, naive and nervous Zoid pilot. Instead what he'd found was a dangerous madwoman.

Before he could do or say anything else, the whole city seemed to shake. Huge chunks of the roof crashed to the ground, crushing buildings, roads, Zoids or whatever else was beneath them. For the first time ever, real sunlight streamed into the city form the sky above, rather the artificial light of the massive lamps. And a huge black shape hovered over the city, the dark Zoid that had attacked the fleet earlier.

Seeing it like this as opposed to from the bridge of the whale king made him realise just how large the Zoid was. He figured that it had to be almost as long as a Madthunder, and have a wingspan greater then that of a Salamander. It seemed to be bristling with weapons, while a pair of wicked-looking horns sprouted form its head. A pair of buzzsaws were visible on its wings, and another two were mounted on its back below two of the weapons pods.

It truly was a monster Zoid, he thought. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before, a nightmare given form and substance.

Vic's Gunsniper seemed to stagger backwards, and then tripped over, landing on its backside. even then, it tried to crawl away, looking up at the monster. "No!" She shouted. "Don't come near me! Not again!"

Again, he wondered what she was talking about. Then he realised. Hagen had been the only survivor of a unit wiped out by some unknown attacker. Could this have been it?

As he watched, a horde of Dimantis descended into the city. Rather then landing inside the city, however, they vanished inside the large shaft at its centre. Now he was confused. What was it up to?

Cade looked up at the display board. For the most part, she wished she didn't need to. First the city's main doors had been destroyed. Then it had been invaded by a horde of enemy Zoids who were now fighting in the upper city. Now the city's roof had been blown off, with the huge black Zoid and a horde of Demantis entering into the city proper.

"Colonel!" A tech shouted. "We have reports of enemy Zoids inside the core section!"

"What?" She yelled out. "Put it on screen, now!"

A new window opened on the main screen, showing a view from the base of the power core. panning up. Cade could see the open roof with the massive black Zoid hanging over it, while hordes of Demanis attack Zoids descended into the core. "What are they doing?" She asked.

Her question was answered for her when one of the Demantis started attacking a power supply tube going from the core to the city. Setting into the cable with its claws, the Demantis severed it before moving on. Looking across the picture, she could see that others were doing the same.

"Colonel!" A tech shouted. "West block three has lost power!"

"East industrial sector reports total power failure."

"We've lost all power to the number two Shipyard, colonel."

The reports were coming in from all across the city. The city was being forcibly separated from its power supply. And there was nothing she or anyone else could do about it. "Order all civil defence teams to deploy immediately." She shouted. "Have all emergency units go to standby. Route auxiliary power to essential services and this command centre only." They had made precious few allowances for running the city without access to the power core itself. It had never seemed possible that it would be destroyed.

"It would appear that our situation has changed for the worse."

She turned around to see Abbot standing behind her. "General?" She'd called for him when the Whale Kings had first been detected, and had since forgotten about him while she tried to control the situation.

"The power core." He replied. "We never took any precautions against loosing it."

"No." She admitted. "We never thought it was possible."

"We were arrogant." he replied. "Foolish, overconfident in our isolation and our protection. We believed that we could never be harmed by the outside world."

"We just never figured on one of our own turning against us." Cade finished. "This whole thing has been planned by somebody who has insider knowledge of our city. We never believed that anyone would want to turn on us."

"I recall saying something about the day coming when we may need to contact the outside world" He said, changing the topic. "I think that day may arrive soon."

"What is that... thing?" Rick asked, his Command Wolf looking up at the black Zoid hanging over the city.

"It can't be..." Pants replied. "The legendary beast of destruction. The lord of the black flames. The dark dragon." He mumbled off the titles. "It's the Gilvader."

"The what?" Sel asked. Her Darkhorn stood, its beam cannon trained on the Gilvader's form. A part of her knew that she couldn't do anything to stop it, but she felt that she had to do something. She just had no idea what.

"A legendary Zoid, who's power is said to rival that of the King Gojulas." Pants replied. "It lived in ancient times, and is said to have been capable of great destruction. Some say that it was used in the wars that occurred during the early years of human life on Zi." He said. "I've heard the legends, but I never dared imagine that I would see one for real."

A quartet of huge shapes passed overhead, Sel instantly recognising them as a trio of Whale Kings and a Hammer Kaiser. "Now what's it doing?" She asked. Long cables snaked down from the ships, the Gilvader following them down.

"I don't know." Pants replied. "I can sense a great power within it. Not just the power of the Zoid itself, but something... else. Something different."

"How can you do that?" She asked.

"I am a Darth. It is an ability we have." He replied, his awe mixing into arrogance, as if he was talking down to her.

"A Darth." Sel muttered to herself. There were no Darths amongst her people, she knew that much. That was apparently because they were 'different' to everyone else on Zi. From what she had been taught, they used technology to allow everyone to have the gifts that only the Darths had in the outside world. She didn't fell like she had any of the abilities that Pants had spoken of. She couldn't sense anything about the Gilvader, save for it making her feel somewhat apprehensive.

Then again, she'd aslo been taught that all Darths were dangerous maniacs who created twisted, monstrous Zoids. Pants and his Malder didn't seem to fit any of those descriptions.

The ground underneath their Zoids shook, as if there was an earthquake. There was a tremendous tearing noise, like the sound of shattering rock. Slowly, the four ships began to ascend, the Gilvader following it upwards, the setting sun reflecting off its shiny black wings. Something was emerging underneath it, a massive object that dwarfed even the huge black Zoid. It began with a rounded, vaguely conical tip that resembled a gigantic version of an Iron Kong's heavy missile, but was a dull grey in colour. It's surface was lined with conduits, vents, tubes and other technological apparatus.

Then she realised what it was.

The power core, the heart of Novo Zemalya. An ancient artefact that the city had been built around, which seemed to predate all human civilization on the planet. The source of all her city's power, the one thing that made the otherwise desolate place liveable. And the Gilvader was taking it.

"No!" She shouted. The Darkhorn charged forwards through the city streets, heading straight towards the centre of the city. She squeezed the trigger on her master weapons control, holding it until her knuckles turned white. The Darkhorn's various back-mounted weapons spat fire at the Gilvader, the rounds either flying away in various directions or seemingly harmlessly detonating in the air.

The Zoid extended its wings and roared, a fierce screech that seemed to fill the air. The Darkhorn stopped, almost as if it itself was afraid to go on. Concentrating on the neural link, she forced it, willed it to go on. She could feel the Zoid in the back of her mind, the machine itself fighting her as if it didn't want to go on.

Opening her eyes and looking up, she could see the base of the core emerging from its shattered shielding, lifting into the sky. For the first time, she could see something that she had never known about it before. She realised the truth about the core's true nature.

It had four engines in its base. For massive drives, similar to those she'd seen on the ruins of the Sovetski Soyuz.

It was a space vessel.

Rose sat in her Blade Liger's cockpit, her knees huddled to her chest. All around her was darkness, the only source of illumination being the Liger's own cockpit instrumentation, and the green glow from the screen of the small computer she held in her hands.

She'd seen the footage of the core's theft. She'd seen the engines. She knew there was one person who could answer her questions.

"Tell me, Slaughter" she began, her voice lacking any of its usual charm, instead having an icy cold edge. "Tell me about the core. Tell me the truth."

As soon as the Gilvader had left, the rest of the attacking Zoids had departed. They were clearly here only for as long as whoever was controlling the whole mess needed to steal the core. Sandra wondered what they intended to do with the pilots still stuck inside them. She figured there would be a lot of very stained cockpits at the other end.

Everyone had begun scouring the city for survivors. It wasn't clear as yet how many of Shepard's men had survived, but it appeared that almost his entire Zoid force had been wiped out. Certainly so far they hadn't been able to find any functional Zoids.

Personally, Sandra was hoping that she fond Shepherd before anyone else. He was the one who had gotten them into this whole mess in he first place. She was hoping she could have a few quiet words and re-arrange his features a little over that. Damn it, I had such a good day too, she thought. Best birthday I'd had in ages and he had to go and ruin it.

The truth was that she didn't want to think about how Sel and the others were doing. They'd just seen their whole world ripped apart around them. She suspected that Sel had volunteered her men for Search-and-rescue duty immediately, if only to give them something to think about.

"Blackmore? Is that you?" She could hear Shepherd's voice over the PA system. Turning around, she could see his Greatsaber perched on top of a pile of rubble.

Right, this is it, she thought. Time to give him what's coming to him. "Yes, what do you want now, you pompous tool?" she snapped back.

"It's Hagen." he replied, indifferent to her tone. "Something's happened to her."