Novo Zemalya

Dark Continent

1930 Hours

The search and rescue operations were still ongoing, but it wasn't looking good. So far, not a single Zoid from Shepherd's force, save for his and Taro's own machines, had been found operational. And while they were pulling a lot of the pilots out, most of their Zoids were write-offs. Some could be salvaged, but it would take a lot of time and work. They'd found Vic's Gunsniper near the core's shielding, lying on its side. Vic was curled up into a ball inside the cockpit, babbling incoherently to herself. They'd evacuated her to the Hovercargo's medical bay and recovered the Zoid. Physically, she appeared to be fine. Mentally was another matter.

"I've seen her like this before." Shepherd muttered.

"You have?" Sandra snarled. She was somewhat worried over Vic's state, but was trying her best not to show it. It wasn't working.

He nodded. "Years ago, when Hagen was a member of my unit. Her squad were all wiped out by an unknown attacker while on an op in the Dark Continent. She was the only survivor. We found her like this."

"And you think it was the Gilvader, right?" She asked, angrily. "She had been saying things about seeing it before, or something. It's hard to tell with her."

He nodded. "I think so." He turned towards her. "Tell me, you've been here before. I saw your Liger and Wolf in the city when I was last here."

"Yes, we were, you big tool." She snapped. "What's your point?"

"I need to know something." He replied. "What happened to commander Desmond, captain Hallis and Amelia Snow?"

"Who?" She asked.

"Three high-ranking agents of ours who were leading the last attempt to infiltrate this city." He explained.

"Ah." She replied. "Well, one of them was found dead from a gunshot to the head. Another tool was found with a scalpel stuck in his throat. I have no idea which is which." She shrugged. "As for Amelia, well, I captured her myself. No idea what they did with her after that."

"I see." He finished. "And Hagen's the only one who can explain how."

"Yeah, well right now I wouldn't ask too much of her." She snapped. "In fact, you should be pretty damned grateful that we helped you out at all, given that you abducted us." She was building up momentum here, and didn't want to stop. "I mean, you storm into our house, menace us with guns and gas, drag us off to your ship, grab our Zoids, stuff us in a cell and take us on the magical mystery tour." She shouted. "Consider yourself lucky that I don't just haul off and blow your frelling head off right here!"

There was a long pause. "Thank you for your help." He replied, then turned to leave.

Sandra glared at him angrily. Stupid tool, she thought. There's got to be some sort of reward for handing in a top A-X commander. Its just that right now we can't get anywhere to do it.

"Hey." Rick interrupted her train of thought. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty bad." She replied. "Vic's... Vic's in shock or something like that. I think she'd seen the Gilvader before, and it may have traumatised her then and seeing it again was just too much for her." She burbled out. "Damn, none of this is making any sense."

Rick nodded. "Yeah, I understand. I don't think that any of us expected to see a legendary Zoid come out of nowhere and tear up the landscape like that."

She couldn't help but snigger at that point. Rick had a way with words. "Probably not." She replied. She'd heard the legends of the Gilvader, about how it was insanely powerful and capable of immense destruction. They seemed to be worryingly true.

"Hey, Sandra." Rick continued. "If the Gilvader's real, what about the Trin-"

"No." She replied. "Rick, do not even finish that thought."

"But the Gilvader's real." he said. "And we've seen a Thunder Trictops."

"That was Darthed." She replied. "It doesn't count."

"And there was a small article in that Zoid magazine on the Venom Snake." Rick said. "And nobody thought it was real either."

"Yes, there's a Venom Snake." She said.

"And Red Ultrasaurus." He continued. "They've found it in the wild."

"Okay, and Red Ultrasarus." She muttered. "And a Gilvader."

"No then there must be a-"

"No," She cut him off. "We are not having this conversation."

"But-"

"No!" She shouted. "End of argument." he stormed outside, almost sniggering to herself. It was kind of enjoyable in a way, and right now she could do with a good laugh. She just wished that Rick would give it a rest. But then, belief and stupidity combined were a powerful force.

"Lights."

There was a flickering and a humming noise, then silence. Then, much to everyone's surprise, the emergency lights came on. Looking around, Cade could see parts of the command centre illuminated, the rest of it trailing off to inky blackness. Several monitors and displays were also coming up. They could operate, but at minimal capacity.

"So what's the situation?" She asked.

"It's hard to tell." One of her aides replied as they looked up form their now-working terminal. "The sensors are reporting that the core's, well, gone."

"Gone?" She asked. "What exactly do you mean?"

"It's hard to tell since most of the sensors are either un-powered or destroyed, but it seems that the core is, well, missing." He replied. "Its like they took it."

"I see." Cade replied. "What's happening in the city itself?"

"Power's going to some essential services." A tech replied. "Mostly environmental control. We'll have fresh air and water, but heat and light are going to be very patchy. Beyond that, everything's out."

Cade nodded. "And the upper city?"

"We're not getting any data from that whatsoever." The tech replied. "So we have no idea what's going on up there."

And that monster could still be present, she thought. And whatever took control of our Zoids. Which means that things could still get far, far worse. "Keep the city sealed." She replied. "For the moment, nothing gets into or out of the lower city. We've already lost half the city; I have no intention of loosing the other half."

"But Colonel, isn't your-" one of her aides began, but she cut him off.

"I know that." She replied. "But right now we cannot afford to take any risks. We must protect what we have left"

Besides the maze of tunnels between levels, there were other, far more direct access routes between the upper and lower cities. Most of them were stairwells, their entrances concealed within low-rise concrete bunkers. They were designed to allow personnel easy access to the lower city, while still keeping enemies out.

Matt emerged from the entrance of one of them, shaking his head. "No luck." He began. "This one is sealed tight as well."

Sel nodded. So far every entrance they'd tried to access had been sealed shut from the other side. Short of blowing them open from this side, there was no conceivable way for them to get into the lower city now. And certainly there was no easy way for them to get their Zoids down, what with all the access elevators begin both powered down and sealed shut. "I expected as much." She replied. "As soon as command knew that... creature was capable of taking control of our Zoids, they would have locked the place down." She looked around. "Unfortunately, this means that for the moment. we're locked out."

Matt nodded. "Right now, things must be pretty terrible down there." He began. "With no power, there will be no lights, no heat, no food and water. There will be thousands of very scared people cooped up in a dark cave with no way out. Something's going to give soon."

"Definitely." Sel replied. "We're indoctrinated to believe that everything will work out fine if we give our all to the system. It works, just as long as there's no sudden, dramatic changes. Deprived of essential needs, the people are going to go crazy down there." She glanced back at the sealed bunker. "Ironically, our siege mentality has turned against us. A normal city could have survived something like this far better then we have."

"A lot of it is lack of preparation." Matt replied. "But then, I doubt that anyone could have prepared for something like this." They turned and walked back to their Zoids. "The question is, what is that is the Gilvader, or whoever's controlling it, doing with the core?"

Sel considered this. "We know it's a power source, a potentially unlimited one." She began. "And it's also some sort of space-going vessel. As for who's controlling the Gilvader, I personally suspect that it's Major De Lyon." Her commanding officer. Unfortunately, it made sense. He had access to the Quentin Journal which gave him far more information on the city and its innermost secrets then most people would have. And she'd seen the troops under his command remove the Nanofoge form that deep storage facility.

"The nanoforge." She began. "He's got a nanoforge, a space ship and an unlimited power source."

"We have to tell the others." Matt replied. "Now."

She nodded. The pair of them literally sprinted to their Zoids, vaulting thair way into the cockpits. Wirhin minutes, they had arrived back at what was being referred to as the base camp, the site of the downed Whale King and Hovercargo. No sooner were they there then Sel had leaped out, hitting the ground running. She quickly found Sandra and Anna, the pair of them apparently planning to leave.

"I need to speak to everyone, urgently." She began, breathlessly. "This is incredibly important."

Anna turned to face her, an angry look on her face. Sel had only properly met the woman a little earlier, but she didn't realise how big she really was. While she had a few centimetres on both her and Sandra, she was a lot broader and more heavily muscled. "Excuse me?" She began. "We were busy here. We're planning for how we're going to get out of here."

"No, let her speak." Sandra replied. "Sel is a native here. She may have a better idea of what's going on."

Sel nodded, and then briefly explained the background to major De Lyon and the nanoforge. "And with it," she added, "He could do, well, anything, really."

"De Lyon?" Sandra asked. "Shepherd, the lead tool on that A-X ship said a guy called De Lyon had invited their forces here, apparently for some sort of alliance."

Sel shook her head. "He's been 'on assignment' for several weeks; we think he had managed to hide himself while doing... whatever it is he has been doing."

"Great. Frelling brilliant. Tool." Sandra replied. "Well, this basically screams 'end of the world' situation." She threw her hands into the air. "I'm stuffed. Anyone want a beer?"

"Can't we do anything about him?" Anna asked.

"He's got the frelling Gilvader, a stupidly powerful legendary Zoid!" Sandra snapped. "See that?" She pointed at the huge tear in the side of the Whale King. "The Gilvader did that. See those?" She pointed over to the gap where the doors used to be. "The Gilvader did that as well. We try to stop it and we'll end up as so much shredded landfill."

Both Anna and Sel remained quiet for a moment before Sel finally spoke. "You think I don't know that, Sandra?" She asked. "That thing just all but destroyed my home. I have no idea what exactly he's doing, but I know that I have to stop it." She glared at Sandra. "If not for my sake, then for everyone else's."

She turned away and walked back to her Darkhorn. "Fine then." Sandra replied. "Go. If you're lucky, it'll just take control of your Zoid. I guess that way it's not going to try and destroy you or anything." She decided to ignore Sandra's comments for the moment, walking around to the other side of the Whale King before leaning on its hull.

That went well, she thought to herself. She'd just managed to alienate Sandra, arguably her best friend. Good start, she thought. And I doubt I'm going to get any others on-side either.

"You okay there?" Matt asked, having stepped around from his Deadborder.

"Not really." She replied. "I'm trying, at least. It's just... it's an awful lot to take in at once. I'm trying to be positive and think that we'll all get through this. Of course, I don't know how and I certainly don't have a plan and I have no idea how to stop that thing and..." she sighed.

"We'll manage." He replied. "Somehow, we seem to get through the worst things."

She nodded. "Like when we stuck our Zoids outside the ship to fight off those red mutants?" She asked. "That was one of my crazier plans, I'll admit."

"Or when you and Sandra fixed that fight." He replied.

She remembered that. It was one of the few times the pair of them had almost come to blows. "Yeah, I remember." She said. "I know we'll figure out something."

"Excuse me." She was snapped out of her train of thoughts by someone nearby. Looking around, she saw a pale skinned man in dark robes, who seemed oddly familiar. She couldn't think why. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought I heard you talking about a nanoforge earlier."

Sel blinked. "And you are?"

"You probably don't recall me." He replied. "But I am Darth Pants, Rick's arch enemy."

That's where he's from, she realised. He was the one who interrupted their baseball game back in Bed Springs. I suppose that right now he's an ally of sorts. "Yes, of course. Sorry. What's up?"

"You mentioned something about someone having a Nanoforge." He continued. "I'm assuming by that you meant some sort of nanotech assembler or the like."

She nodded. "Yes. The man controlling the Gilvader has it."

"Hmm..." He thought. "And you say the Gilvader was taking control of the other Zoids."

Sel nodded. "I've heard something about it spraying something form a weapon on its back. Any Zoid hit by the spray stops responding to the pilot, apparently."

"Ah." He began. "I have heard of something like this. It's probably some sort of nanotech induced control override. The Nanites are being used to route control of their Zoids from the pilot and probably to an AI system created within the Zoid. His system is then programmed to respond to commands from an external source. Fascinating." He rambled.

"Did you catch any of that?" Matt asked,

"Some." She replied. "Enough to have a good idea of what he's talking about."

"Pants, could you develop a way of countering this system?" She asked.

"Certainly" He replied. "I suspect that if I could analyse some of the nanites from one of the Zoids they had controlled then I could develop a sort of counter unit that could be installed into a Zoid. If the Zoid was infected with nanites, then the counter system would activate and flush a supply of friendly nanites into the Zoid's system. Yes, of course!"

"Like getting a shot to fight an infection." Matt said. "Brilliant."

"I am a genius you know." Pans said, rather confidently.

"So, when could you begin working on such a system?" Sel asked.

Pants rubbed his chin for a moment. "Well, if I could get one of the nanite-infected Zoids, or at least its wreckage, then almost immediately." He looked around. "My hovercargo has labs and equipment that I could use to modify the nanites programming and the hardware components of such a system wouldn't be too hard to scratchbuild.."

"Shepherd has been collecting the wrecked Zoids in the Whale King. Explain to him what you're doing and I'm sure he'll let you take a few for study. Is there anything else you need?"

Pants looked around. "No, I feel that what I have at the moment is perfect. I can beat this weapon, beat it with my own genius!" He laughed out loud for a moment, then stopped. "So, if you'll excuse me." He turned around and began to walk off, only to trip on his own cloak and fall on his face. picking himself up again, he dusted himself off then continued walking.

"Do you really think he can help?" Matt asked.

"Right now I'll take anything." Sel replied. "And, strangely enough, I think this may be our best chance yet."

Given the situation, there had been precious little time for introductions while everyone had been hip-deep in A-X Zoids and the Gilvader had been breathing down their throats. Now that the pressure was off, at least for the moment, Rick had decided that it was time that everyone got to know each other a little beyond "don't shoot him."

So as a result, she'd gotten Bekka, Alex and Bob together and introduced them to Felix, Stuart, Reven and Z-One. Things weren't quite going as he'd expected, however.

"So..." Reven began, slightly apprehensively. "You guys pilot Dark Zoids."

"Yep." Alex replied. "As if it wasn't obvious form the big black and green lizards over there." He added.

"That's... nice." She added, glancing at Z-One for some reason.

"Wonder if they're the same bunch of DZ's." he replied. "You know, like those ones in the Whale Ki-" Reven clamped her hand over his bandanna-covered face, reducing him to a series of incoherent mumbles.

"He's just a witless minion." Reven quickly blurted out, grinning nervously. "Don't pay any attention to a thing he says."

Bob looked at Alex in confusion, who just shrugged. "So how do all you guys know each other?" Bekka asked.

"It's complicated." Felix replied. "Bed Springs was invaded by the military. We fought back." He spat on the ground nearby. "Sandra kinda organised our forces."

"Yeah!" Stuart shouted. "I mean, we charged around and attacked those guys and hit 'em and... BANG! Yeah! That was cool!" He laughed to illustrate his point. "And now we got all these guys here, and then we can just plow though them all and stuff! Cool!"

"He's funny." Bekka said, sniggering. Alex and Bob refused to comment.

"Anna's our boss of sorts now." Felix continued. "It was her idea to follow the Whale King that kidnapped Sandra, Rick and Vic. So she grabbed that Pants guy and forced him to drive us all this way"

"Wow." Rick replied. "I'm surprised Reven agreed to the idea."

"Anna shouted at her a lot, which helped things." Felix replied. Rick nodded sagely. She was good at that. "Somehow we made it all here without killing each other"

"...and then we charged straight in squished a few of 'em then I leapt out of the cargo in my DB and let rip with a full cannon barrage! Bang! Bang bang bang!" Stuart added, as if to illustrate the point.

"How did you manage?" Alex asked, quietly.

"It wasn't easy." Felix replied. "I think Anna did a lot by simply shouting at everyone to maintain order and threatening violence. Worked too."

"So what are you going to do now?" Bob asked. "You're an awful long way from home."

Felix shrugged. "We'll figure out something. I suspect we'll probably end up going back the way we came. Might be a bit of a problem to carry three more Zoids, but we'll manage."

"I take it you don't want to take those two A-X clowns with you?" Alex asked, indicating to the Whale King.

"We could take 'em as prisoners. They're probably worth quite a bit in bounty." He explained. "We can't fit their Zoids though."

"We're not going anywhere for the moment." Anna interrupted them, Sandra standing behind her.

"Boss?" Felix asked.

"Whadda ya mean we're not?" Stuart added, shouting. "Why?"

"Because that big, black tooly Zoid has a spaceship and a nanomachine assembler." Sandra replied. "Combine the two, and whoever is controlling it can do to the whole world what they did to the A-X force."

There was a long, long pause before everyone spoke. "Wow." Rick finally spoke up. "A genuine end of the world scenario. I take it we can't do anything to stop it?"

"Not unless you can come up with some way to destroy the GIlvader without it grinding you up into kibble and then laying carpet on your mortal remains." Sandra replied. "That's assuming that it doesn't just seize control of your Zoid and let you sit around and watch while it takes over the world."

"Do we even know who's inside it?" Bob asked. "Anything?"

Sandra nodded. "Based on what Sel and Major Toolfairy have told us, we think it's one of your seniors, a man called De Lyon. He was responsible for looking after Rick and I when we were your guests last."

"I shoulda figured." Alex said.

"What do you mean by that?" Bob asked. "If you have issues with your commander-" he stood, an angry look on his face.

"Whaoh, easy there, Bob." Alex replied, holding up his hands. "But sure you would have noticed how much of a pain he's been since the last attack on the city. Story I heard was that Captain O'Bannon undercut him all the way and made him look bad in front of everyone, Colonel Cade included."

"O'Bannon?" Rick asked. "As in, Rose O'Bannon? As in..." he gestured with his hands.

Alex nodded. "That's the one. Technically she's Sel's equal and De Lyon's subordinate. In practice, she's managed to gain a lot more power then she should have."

"How do you know all this?" Bob asked.

"Pays to make friends with people." He replied.

"Anyway, that tool has the core and a nanite assembler and can pretty much boglflop the world with the resulting mess." Sandra replied. "I, uh, can't really offer you much right now, but the best thing I can say is that if there's anything you want to do or say, you better do it now."

"Right." Felix stood and spat. "Well if you'll excuse me, I have to see a man about some things." He walked off.

"Oh great." Reven muttered, finally releasing her grip on Z-One's mask. "Here I am going to die in a hole in the ground in the middle of nowhere. Wonderful. It wasn't how I'd planned to go out." She cast an eye over the various other pilots. "Either of you doing anything tonight?" She looked over at Bob and Alex.

Bob shrugged. Alex simply shook his head. "Later. I've got to make peace with my inner child. Or something."

"Fine." She stalked off, clearly not happy about something. Z-One shrugged and stood there, clearly not caring much for what was going on.

Bekka turned to look at Rick, then stood up and walked over to him. "Rick, uh..." She trailed off. "There's something, something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Something up?" he asked.

"Can we, uh, go somewhere else?" She asked. "I just want to talk and stuff but in private."

Rick nodded. "Sure thing." The pair of them walked off, heading away form the hovercargo and everyone else.

Sandra and Anna walked off, as did Stuart. After a while of standing there and doing nothing, Z-One simply wandered off, probably looking for someone to minion for. Bob and Alex were left, looking over the ruined city and the two transports.

Alex lay back on the concrete slab that had been serving as an impromptu bench, staring up at the roof. "Stars." He began. "I can see stars from here. There's something I never thought I'd ever live to see happen."

Bob grunted. "Pity they had to take the roof off for it."

Alex nodded. "Shame that. Still, you can't argue with the view. I wonder, which one of them do you think is our real home?"

Bob merely grunted again.

"Something up, bro?" Alex asked, still looking up into space.

"Lots of things, I guess." Bob replied. "Its just that they hall happened at once."

"Let me guess, it's Bekka, right?"

"Yeah." He said. "I mean, I know she's her own woman now and all that but... I guess I just can't get over seeing her as my baby sister or something."

"Our baby sister." Alex muttered. "Yeah, I know what you mean." The three of them were all the same age in years, but the pair of them had always towered over Bekka.

"I guess I'm just a bit concerned." He continued. "I mean... It's not that I don't like Rick or anything it's just that, well, he's an outsider."

Alex nodded. He, Bob and Bekka were all genetically-enhanced supersoldiers who had been trained their whole lives for fighting. All three of them were the children of other genetically upgraded individuals. As a comic book artist/writer turned mercenary, Rick was about as different from them as possible. "I know, man." He said. "But them I figure, she's happy. And that what's really important."

"Probably." He said.

"Evening." Darth pants walked past carrying a mess of pipes on his back. "You guys wouldn't know where I could get a vacuum cleaner around here?"

"Sorry." Alex replied. "We don't come here often."

"Not a problem." He replied, and walked off.

"Now there's a guy with problems." Alex said as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Yeah." he said. "Outsiders."

"I know." Alex replied. "But at the same time, we've met an awful lot of nice ones. And hell, most of 'em have been a lot more human then people I know around here."

"You think?"

"I know." He replied. "I'd rate Rick above a lot of people I know any day."

"That's fair then." Bob finished. "I guess I'm just over protective or something."

"Naw, you're okay. You just try to follow the rules, that's all." Alex replied. "Ah hell, I gotta say this. You're an alright guy, you know that? Despite the way we treat you sometimes."

"Thanks." There was a long pause. "I just figured you guys were just all being pains."

"We're like that' Alex replied. "We just pick on you because you adhere to the rules all the time, unlike us loons."

He shrugged. "Thanks, I think."

"Seriously. You've shown incredibly bravery and skill, and you've stuck your neck out more then any of us would have dared. Like when you continued fighting despite your Zoid's condition when we were attacked by those red mutants." He explained. "And you did better then Bekka. Statistically, she's meant to be the best of us three screaming mad iguanas."

"Really?" Bob asked. "Thanks for that."

There was a long, long pause with neither of them speaking. "What do you suppose will happen now?" Bob finally asked. "I mean, with the core and the city and all."

"I have no idea." Alex replied. "I'm sure Sel will figure something out. She always seems to."

"You reckon?"

Before Alex could reply, there was a high-pitched female squeal from the Hovercargo. "What was that?" Bob asked, leaping to his feet.

"That?" Alex asked. "Probably that Reven girl discovering that Pants has done something that's sapped all the hot water in the Hovercargo." Alex replied. "But I'm hazarding a guess."

"How do you know that?"

"I've heard Bekka make similar noises." He explained "Back when we were... ah..."

Bob nodded. "I always knew about you two." He replied. "You don't have to say anything."

"Thanks." he replied. "I, uh, didn't want to bring it up but-"

"It's okay." Bob replied.

"Yeah." Alex sat up. "I should probably go check on Reven, to see if she's uh, all right. Or something."

Bob smiled. "You had better. She might be in trouble and need your help. Or something."

Alex laughed, then slapped him on the back. "Good call." He stood up and walked off. "See ya later."

Bekka had taken Rick to an old house closer towards the city's hub. It was one of the more intact buildings in the area, even if it had been stripped bare of most of its furnishings long ago. She'd also picked up a backpack that she'd stashed near where they were meeting. She hadn't said why. Putting it down on the floor of what had probably once been a main bedroom, she turned to him.

"I missed you a lot." She began, looking down at her feet.

"Me too." Rick replied, looking at her. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has." She answered, glancing away from him, before looking back at him. "It's good to see you again, Rick."

"It's great to see you too." He replied. "I just wish that it had been under different circumstances."

"Yeah." She replied. "Like you not being kidnapped and us not having our city torn apart."

"Something like that." He nodded. "Uh, Bekka, there's, uh, something I've been wanting to say for a while. It's just that... well... every time I try to say it, something bad happens."

"I know." She said, nodding. "The same seems to happen to me. Last time, it was the attack on Lanard, remember?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah. Strange the way these things work out, isn't it?"

She nodded. Both of them seemed to have the same thing to say, Rick thought. Its just that neither of them could say it.

"Bekka-"

"Rick-"

They both began at once, then stopped, stumbling over their words. "You go." Rick finally offered.

"That night in Bed Springs." She finally said. "When we, uh, started out with the sketchbook session and we went beyond that and... I mean... well..."

"I think I understand." Rick replied.

"You do?"

He nodded, then leaned forwards and kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah, I think so." He smiled. "You're in love with me, right."

She nodded. "It seems kind of silly. I'm normally so fearless and reckless in battle, but I can't bring myself to say something like that."

"It's okay." Rick replied. "I know how you feel. I, uh, I feel the same, really. I'm normally so confident and now well..."

She kissed him, this time on the lips. Taking her in his arms, he just held her there for a long time.

"Rick, I'm so scared." She finally admitted. "I don't know what's going to happen to us."

"It'll all work out." He replied. "I know it will."

Rose didn't know how long she'd been sitting in the Liger's cockpit, simply listening to Slaughter talking. It was surprising how much he still had to say to her, given how much she'd wrung out of him in past. So far, he seemed to be giving her his life story, which in and of itself seemed to be a somewhat epic story of battles against various foes.

"After the end of the Z-Knight wars, I found others like me." He continued. "We wanted to rule this world, and then extend out reach beyond that. We felt that with our capabilities and technology, we shouldn't be confined to the dried-up husk this planet had become. Those like me were called the Destructors. Our ranks swelled, and included many of our race's most powerful warriors."

"And so you built this place." Rose replied.

"Yes." He explained. "The core was to be the heart of our interstellar vessel that would take our race to the stars. The city would function both as a development facility for the weapons I would use to conquer my fellow Starriors, as well as a launch facility for this vessel."

"I see." Rose replied. Ironically, they had the means to go home under their noses all along. They just didn't know it. But then, she wondered, if they had known, would they have used it? Would they have given up their power in order to get home? She dismissed the thought as irrelevant. She had other things to think about. "What is the core capable of?"

"Right now, very little." he replied. "The engines that it's got at the moment are for space manoeuvring only. They won't allow it to break the planet's gravity without assistance."

"And if it were to be mated to an existing drive system to allow it to reach orbit?"

"Hypothetically, the possibilities are unlimited." He replied. "My first plan was to turn it into a power module for an orbital weapons platform capable of devastating the planet's surface."

"And if it was equipped with some sort of nanotech weapon?" She asked, slowly putting together the pieces.

"Given its power capacity, it could power and produce a moderately effective nanotech assembler almost indefinitely." He replied. "It was another option I had considered."

Now it all made sense. "I see." She said. "And the Gilvader?"

"A Zoid I created to use against the Starriors and other races." He replied. "I modelled its AI systems off my own. As Zoids go, it is very intelligent and dangerous, almost driven to destroy."

"So, the question is, how would one stop it?"

"You can't." He simply replied.

The weight of the core, as well as the drag of carrying it suspected under a quartet of ships had substantially slowed De Lyon's trip from the city to his new base of operations. It didn't really matter to him, however. He knew that by this stage there was nothing that anyone could do to stop him. From here, it was only a matter of time.

His attack on Novo Zemalya had not gone as planned. He'd been forced to down one of the A-X whale Kings and then use a substantial portion of the forces he now controlled to terminate the ship's occupants. Looking at the forces following him on the ground, it appeared that a good portion of them, probably half, had been destroyed in the fighting. Still, it had netted him all that he had wanted to get away with, and that was what mattered.

Arriving at the site, De Lyon could see that his advance forces were already present. His own Whale King was resting on the ground, the Zoids from the Special Operations Unit scattered around the area on sentry duty. Nearby, technicians swarmed over a massive chunk of wreckage, working to disassemble it. A field headquarters completed the site.

He'd chosen this location for two reasons. The first was that the wreckage of the Sovetski Soyuz provided him with more then just raw materials; its four massive interplanetary drives were still intact and functional. They were an essential part of his plan. The second was that nobody would come here. It was the last place anyone from Novo Zemalya would dare go. It had given him ample opportunity to prepare his work in private.

His troops had already prepared a detention facility for the remaining A-X pilots. He had no further use for them now that he had thair Zoids. From here, all they could do was watch as he launched his new vessel, and a new age for the whole planet began. He supposed that he could consider them privileged. Maybe he should charge admission.

The Gilvader landed, while the four ships put down the core. The impact of its landing kicked up a cloud of powdered snow, temporarily clouding it. No sooner was he down, then he was shouting orders. "Secure the core! Have it made ready for assembly of the orbital engines!"

Leaving the Gilvader, he was met by his aide, Major Sturm. "I trust all went well at the city?" He asked.

"After a fashion." De Lyon replied as he walked towards his field command center. "A-X put up more of a fight then expected and I ended up walking away with less then half of their ground forces. But I did get the Whale kings and, more importantly, the core, so we achieved our objectives. Besides, what's a few attack Zoids, given what's at stake?"

"Very little, I'd imagine." Sturm replied. "And the city itself?"

"The front doors have been destroyed and there's now a gaping hole in the roof." He explained. "Command decided to tighten up security and have basically sealed the place off. I figure it may be one of the last places we get to. Of course, by then everyone's likely to have gone crazy and the place may be one big riot. It could be amusing to see."

"Indeed, sir" Sturn continued.

"Oh, there's one other thing." He turned to face Sturm. "I captured a squadron of our Reddlers during the attack. I want you to find their leader and bring him to me."

"Yes sir." Sturm replied. "Oh, sir, you'll find a copy of the engineering report on your desk." He added before he turned and left.

Entering his field headquarters, itself little more then a tent, De Lyon picked up a small portable computer that he had been using to store all the info relevant to the project. Checking the current documents, he could see the engineers report that Sturm had mentioned. Excellent. It would take them some time to install the engines, but the design theory was sound. The four engines from the Zoyuz could be combined with the core to give it the lift it needed to reach orbit. Perfect.

"Excuse me, sir." Sturm interrupted his analysis of the reports. Looking up, De Lyon could see him by the entrance with another man in a Zemalyan uniform. Tall, dark haired and blue-eyed, De Lyon recognised him as captain Eisenbeck, one of Cade's best and most promising officers. His hands were bound behind his back, and a pair of large, well-armed troopers stood behind him.

"Ah, captain Eisenbeck." He began. "So good of you to join us."

"You traitor." He snarled back. "Do you realise what you've done? You've killed us all."

"What I've done, captain, is take control of my own life." He replied. "I will no longer be held prisoner by our system. Nor will I allow it to continue perpetuating itself, leaving our people imprisoned by false hopes."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh come on." he replied. "Do you really think we were ever going to leave this planet?" Esienbeck didn't reply. "I thought so."

"So what do you want with me?"

"I'm offering you a chance to join us." De Lyon replied. "As a fellow Zemalyan officer."

"You can go to hell." He spat back. "You're no better then those terrorists outside."

"Fine then." De Lyon casually replied. "Take him away. Return him to the detention centre for now."

A pair of solders dragged Eisenbeck away, leaving De Lyon and Sturm alone again in the office. "There was one other thing, sir." Sturm spoke up. "The leader of the A-X forces asked to speak to you. He called himself lord Ebonflak."

"I knew he'd come here himself." He replied. "Please, get him for me. I do wish to talk to him."

"Sir." Sturm replied and left.

Seating himself, De Lyon began to go over the engineering notes on the construction of the new engines for the ship. In the back of his mind, however, he could feel the Gilvader's presence. It seemed to be... hungry, It wanted more. More destruction, more power. It was a creature that apparently lived to destroy. He put it aside for the moment, concentrating on his work.

"Excuse me, sir." Looking up, he could see Sturm standing there with a tall, long-haired man. He immediately recognised him from the intel briefings as Ebonflak, the leader of A-X.

"Lord Xonvier Ebonflack, I presume." De Lyon began. "I am major Jean De Lyon. I apologise for the deception in bringing you here, but I had need of your troops."

"Indeed." Ebonflak replied. "And a magnificent deception it was. So grandiose in nature and yet so elegant in its execution. I applaud you on your efforts, Major. You knew exactly what to do in order to lure me in and set me up for whatever your plan is."

"You wanted to speak to me." De Lyon replied, ignoring the compliment.

"Indeed." He continued. "I have noticed that you now have complete control over our Zoids, effectively eliminating our access to them. Whatever method you used has effectively removed any influence we could have over their actions." He paused for a moment. "However, my Darth tells me that the Zoids themselves are not functioning at their full capacity. Under whatever form of remote control they use, their reactions are far slower and less capable then if they were controlled by human operators."

"Your point?"

"Major, I sense a kindred spirit in you." Ebonflak continued. "One who wishes to bring order and enlightenment to this corrupt, ignorant and disorderly world. For that is my goal as well, as the leader of the secret ideological organisation of A-X. Major, I would be honored if you would allow me to work alongside your forces. Grant myself, my Darth and my aide full control of our Zoids, and we will faithfully serve you."

De Lyon considered this. Besides the special operations unit, he had no Zoids capable of independent action. And having a few that were able to react a little faster would be useful. Besides, there were ways of ensuring their loyalty.

"Granted." he said. "But remember this. The nanites that control your Zoids are also present in your bodies. While they can't be used to take control of you, they can have other... detrimental effects. Betray me, and I won't hesitate to demonstrate them to you."

"My loyalty is assured." Ebonflak replied. "I merely wish to be a part of the glorious plan you have for these ignorant masses."

De Lyon nodded. "My men here will show you to temporary accommodations. While crude, I'm sure they'll be more to your liking then the detention facility."

"Thank you, Major." Ebonflak replied. "Together, I feel that we can truly bring an age of enlightenment and order to the ignorant masses of the world."

De Lyon nodded, a pair of guards escorting him out of the room. Sturm turned towards him as soon as they left. "You don't trust him, do you?"

"There's very little he can do to me, Sturm." De Lyon replied. "Should he try anything, I could have the nanites boil his blood or try to reconstruct his brain or something to that effect. And any control of his Zoid he has, I can just as easily take away again." He said. "A few more soldiers may yet be of some assistance to us."

"Yes sir." Sturm replied. "And the Darth?"

"The same applies to him." He replied. "Besides which, what kind of Darth goes around in a completely unmodified Zoid?" He'd been rather surprised about the information he'd gotten form the A-X Zoids. Ebonflak's Godkaiser was the only machine that deviated form a normal configuration. "If it bothers you, Sturm, assign extra guards to watch them. Fell free to kill them should they give you any grief."

"Yes sir." he replied and left.

De Lyon sat back in the chair. In his mind, he could hear the Gilvader's thoughts. It hungered he thought. Hungered for more destruction.

"Soon." he whispered to himself. "Very soon."

Rick stared up at the cracked ceiling of the abandoned house. Bekka's colourfully tattooed arm lay across his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. For about the dozenth time he tried counting the cracks in the ceiling to get to sleep. It wasn't working.

"Are you awake?" He heard her mutter next to him.

"Sorry." he replied quietly. "Couldn't sleep."

"Its okay." She replied.

"Too much to think about." He added. "What with the Gilvader and everything."

"Don't." he said. "Just let's... lets have what little time we have."

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "I keep trying to think of ways to stop it."

"Like?" She asked, propping her head up on her other arm.

He turned over to face her. "Its like a comic book thing. There's the huge supermenace that's bigger then any supermenace that the heroes have ever seen before. It's too tough for them to beat and they have to find a way to beat it up."

"And you write this sort of stuff for a living." She replied. "So what would you have them do?"

"Well..." Rick considered the matter. What would he do? "One thing is to go to your previous arch enemy and ask his help. Its strange, but they often will agree. And that's usually a good thing, because usually arch enemies are incredibly powerful. Most are supermenaces in and of themselves."

"So you use a super-tough baddie to stop another one." Bekka replied. "Sounds simple to me."

"Of course!" Rick suddenly sat up. "The Gilvader's a legendary beast of destruction, the sort of apocalyptic super monster that exits solely to blow stuff up." he spoke excitedly. "All we need is another one. Some other hugely powerful monster Zoid."

"Like the Bloody Deathsaurer?" Bekka asked. "I mean, that thing's hugely powerful. And you saw what it did on its own."

Rick remembered that thing all too well. He'd almost been on the receiving end of its attentions. "That's right!" He stood up. "If we can re-activate that thing, then we can use it against the Gilvader! It's perfect!" He was virtually shouting with excitement.

"It is?" She asked, sitting up and holding her sleeping bag to her chest.

"Of course!" he replied. "Its more powerful then any other Deathsaurer! You saw it in action. If it can destroy a Mad Thunder with its cannon, then it must be able to destroy the Gilvader!" He excitedly slammed his fist into his hand. "I've got to tell Sel or Sandra or someone. We can do this, Bekka! We can beat it! We can save the world!" He turned to lave.

"Uh, Rick?" he asked. "One thing."

"What?"

"You might want to put some clothes on first. Any clothes."

Following her argument with Sel, Sandra had retreated back to the Hovercargo's sick bay where they'd taken Vic. She was curled up into a small ball on one of the beds, muttering to herself. Sandra had tried talking to her, but to no response. She's completely withdrawn, she thought. She's already been traumatised once by that thing. Seeing it again must have been too much for her to handle. It was odd. In a way, she'd always figured Vic to be the toughest of the three of them simply because she was completely nuts. Now?

She'd remained by the bad, siting in a small chair and watching her in case she changed. At some stage, however, she must have drifted off to sleep. Next thing she knew, someone was shaking her.

"Hey, Sandra?" She recognised the voice. Rick. What was he doing here? "You there? I need to speak to you."

"Wha?" She said, blinking awake. Rick was standing there, Bekka lurking behind him in the doorway. "Rick? "

"We think we know how to beat the Gilvader." He began.

"What?" She shook her head. Now I know I'm nuts, she thought. Rick said he can beat that thing.

"We can beat it." he said again. "I have a plan."

"A plan?" She asked. "You?"

He nodded. "Well, it's half Bekka's plan, but its still a plan." He explained.

"What is it?" She asked. She knew that it was probably incredibly hair brained and stupid, but at the same time a part of her wanted to hope that he had some way to beat that creature.

"We use the Bloody Deathsaurer." He replied. "We hit it with something that can match its power."

She shook her head. "And what, you think they'll give it to us?"

"We're working on that." Rick replied. "But we think we may be able to steal it or something. After all, Vic was able to."

"And who's going to pilot it?" Sandra asked. "Sel said it violently rejects anyone who tries to use it. And the only person who was able to use it was Vic and she's no use to anyone right now."

"We have to try." Rick replied. "And this is the best chance we have."

"Fine." Sandra said. "It's a completely insane plan that is going to get you all killed." She stood, throwing her hands into the air for effect. "But at the same time, it's the sort of thing that we do all the time." She grinned. "So lets do it."

Stepping outside the Hovercargo, Sandra was surprised to find Darth Pants and his Malder waiting outside the bay, a pile of assorted tools and tubes lying around its base. One of the access panels at the base of its shell was open, with pants himself half sticking out of the panel. More surprisingly, Sel was standing nearby watching the process.

"What's going on here?" Sandra asked as she stepped outside.

"Pants is working on something." She replied. "Actually, it was my idea."

"It's something like ten or eleven at night. Isn't it a bit too late for Darthing?" She asked.

"Well, he says that there's never a bad time for genius, so here we are." She replied and shrugged.

"We need to tal-" Sandra began, but she was interrupted by Pants stepping out of the Zoid's access hatch.

"I'm all finished, Sel!" He shouted. "And we're ready for a test run."

"How's it looking?" She asked back.

"So far, so good." He flicked a switch on a small remote he was holding. A sound like a malfunctioning vacuum cleaner came form the Zoid, followed by clouds of dust billowing out form its shell. "See?"

Sel waved her hand to clear the air a little. "Great. Tell me when you begin the test."

"Hi Pants!" Rick shouted. "How's it going?"

"Great." he replied. "I should be ready for my vengeance in a while. I'm just working on my latest project now."

"Another ultimate creation?" Rick asked.

"No, just an upgrade to this one." He replied.

"Right... well, good luck with it." Rick said as pants walked off, whistling as he went.

"Sorry." Sel said. "You were saying?"

"Rick and Bekka have a plan to stop the Gilvader." She said. "It's completely nuts and will probably get us all killed, but I reckon we have a better chance of puling it off then sitting around here and doing nothing." She was trying to sound as casual as possible. Not easier when a few hours ago she'd basically told Sel that they were better off doing just that.

"Really?" She asked. "Because Pants and I were working on something of our own."

"You and Pants were working together?" Sandra asked. "Now that's completely tooled up."

"Actually, he's developing a system to counteract the nanites that the Gilvader is using to control Zoids." She explained. "He thinks that he may be able to develop a system of his own that will neutralise their attack."

"So that means its lost one of its weapons if it works." Sandra said. "Pretty frelling brilliant of the big tool, actually."

"See, I told you he was a cool arch-enemy." Rick added.

"So what was your plan?" Sel asked.

"Well, we figured that the Gilvader was pretty much the biggest and scariest thing we've come across." Rick began. "And we also figured that the Bloody Deathsaurer was similarly huge and terrifying. So our plan is to use the latter against the former."

Sel glared at him. "You do realise that we'd need Vic to pilot it, and she's in no state to do it."

"I'm well aware of that." Rick replied. "I think we can bring her around."

"And you also realise that we'd need to get it out of the city. It weighs four hundred tons, and the cargo lifts won't be functioning. Any ideas on how you're going to do that?"

"Whale king." He said. "If four of them can lift the core, I'm sure one can lift a Deathsaurer. Besides, it'd be an easier way to get around then walking it to wherever he is."

"Fine." She said. "One last thing. You do realise that when she last used it, Vic went nuts and tried to destroy everything around her. How do we know she won't do that again?"

"I figured we'd burn that bridge when we got to it." Rick replied.

"Cross." She said. "The term is to 'cross' that bridge when you come to it."

"Whatever." Rick finished, shrugging. "So what do you think?"

"I'm assuming that the rest of us go in there and act as support elements to stop the enemy from swarming it." Sel began. "And with Pants' new system, that would work too..." She considered it. "Well, I'm all for it."

Sandra smiled. That, she thought, was spoken like one of us. "Right." She spoke. "What we need to do is get everyone in on this. Somebody go and find Shepherd and tell him. We'll need all the warm bodies we can get, and he's also got the authority to boss around the Whale King's crew."

Sel nodded. 'I'll look after him." She said. "I'm sure I can talk to him as one officer to another."

"We'll spread the world around with everyone else." Bekka spoke up. "They should be on our side."

Sandra figured it out in her head. Stuart would be in it for the Explosions, Anna to keep Stuart under control... Reven could be a problem, but she figured they could get her on side some how. "Right." She answered. "And I'm going to try and nut out stealing the stupid thing." She finished.

The pair of them walked off, leaving Sandra staring at the gutted Whale King. It could still fly, she figured. Just not easily. Pants wandered back into view, dragging a mass of tubing with him. "Hey pants!" She shouted.

"What is it?" he asked, turning around and almost dropping his load of assorted parts.

"Could you repair the Whale King's engines?"

He looked over at the damaged ship. "Quite possibly." He replied. "I could transplant and adapt parts from the Hovercargo... it could work."

"Do it." She said. "We have a plan."

A quick review of his surviving men had given Shepard a good idea of the situation. He had enough surviving pilots who were fit for combat to take all the Zoids left operational after the battle. From there, he figured he could take the Darth prisoner and force him to repair the Whale King's engines, using the others as hostages if necessary. Re-armed and with a functional ship, his force could evacuate the city.

He'd decided to go for a short walk around the ship while planning their next move. From here, it seemed like there was very little they could do. He'd considered attacking the enemy force head-on to liberate Ebonflak and the others, but quickly dismissed that. Blackmore's points were accurate; they had no way to stop the Gilvader, and no way to prevent it from seizing control of their Zoids.

"I want a word with you." A voice from behind caught his attention. He turned around to see Felix Stratton, one of the mercenaries working with that Conda woman, standing by a pile of rubble. His arms were folded across his chest, an angry look on his face.

"What do you want." He demanded. He didn't have time to waste on this mercenary scum.

"You don't remember me, do you?" He snarled. "Three years ago at the Georges River. Do you remember that?"

Shepherd nodded. There had been a clash between A-X forces and UZN troops there, in which he had been involved. The battle had been a rather one-sided rout, most of the A-X force wiped out with only Shepherd and a handful of others escaping. "So what of it?"

"I was-" he began, but was cut off.

"Major Shepherd!" He turned to see Magyari standing on his other side, her second in command looming behind her. "We need to speak. Now."

First one thing and then another. "I'm busy right now." He replied. First I'll deal with this fool and then her, he thought. Damn, this whole operation has been an unmitigated disaster. I'd bee very surprised if there is an A-X after all this.

"It's important." She said, speaking up. "We know how to beat the Gilvader. But we need your help."

He turned around, leaving Stratton behind. "No." He replied. "I am leaving, and I am taking my men with me. We are not going to fight your hopeless battles."

She walked forwards, the large man remaining close to her. "Major, this is the fate of the world we're talking about here." She explained. "If we don't stop it, then we're all done for."

"Irrelevant." He said. "I am taking my troops and my ship and leaving this city."

"And going where?" She asked, an angry look on her face. For the first time he noticed the smeared red streaks down her cheeks. Warpaint, he thought. How anachronistic. "If we don't stop that thing, there will be nowhere to go to."

"I don't care." He replied. "I have plans. I can survive this. But not if I fight it head-on."

"So-sha!" He turned for am moment to see Taro standing behind Felix, a gun in his hands. "What is going on here?"

"I'm dealing with important matters, Watanabe." He snapped. "The situation is in hand." He turned back to Magyari. "I am not going along with this foolish venture. If you want to fight it, do it yourselves."

"What?" She snapped. "Don't you care what happens to everyone else?"

"Frankly, no." He replied, turning away. "I joined this organisation for power and to further my own career I see little opportunity for either while engaging in some foolish attack on-"

Before he could finish, he heard someone behind him moving. Turning around, he caught a glimpse of Magyari, right before her fist impacted into the side of his face. He staggered back, clutching the side of his face. "What..." He began.

"You attack my city." She began, snarling as she threw her jacket aside, revealing a short-sleeved black skive underneath. "You kill my people." She stepped forwards, sweeping her long hair over her shoulder and gathering it into a ponytail. "You kidnap my friends." She finished, glaring at him. "You cooperate with me and I may just let you go free at the end of all this."

He glanced around. Stratton was standing behind Taro, pressing his subordinate's face into the side of the Whale King's hull. Magyari's man was standing some distance back, a large pistol in his hand. He'd been outmanoeuvred. Only one option left. "No." He replied. "You will let me go with my men. Now."

Magyari's reply was to lash out with a high kick aimed towards his head. Stepping backwards, he barely avoided it then ducked, running straight at her. Swinging at her face, he was surprised when she caught the blow and twisted his arm around. She's fast, he thought. And strong too. Much stronger then I would have thought. Striking her arm with his free hand, he wrenched himself free then staggered back. Enough of this.

He jabbed at her, only to have her duck to the right, then weave to the left to avoid his follow up. In reply, she struck out with her foot, catching him in the side. Seeing a chance, however, he staggered then swept low with his own foot, catching her in the calf and monetarily tripping her. Leaping at her, she rolled out of the way and sprang to her feet before he could strike.

She struck hard, the first blow landing in his midsection and staggering. The second one seemed to go straight for is kidneys, leaving him doubled over in pain. He twisted around, expecting a third blow and preparing to counter it.

Instead, she bought around her left foot, the boot striking him in the side of the face. There was a wet crunching noise as he staggered and then collapsed, a stream of blood spurting form his nose. Before he could get up, Magyari leaped on him, Her thighs straddling her chest while one hand clamped down on his neck. The other was raised above his head, clenched in a tight fist.

"Go on." He muttered. "You're not a killer."

Then he saw her eyes. A deep, dark brown, bordering on black that matched her hair. Even against them, the pupils were normally visible, but now they were small, barely viable. He'd seen this look before, he realised. Hagen. She'd had this look while she was talking about Desmond and what happened to him.

"Am I?" She asked. "Well?"

"Fine." he rolled his head to one side. "I concede. You can have my men and my ship."

"And you." She said. "You pilot the Greatsaber. I've seen you fight. You're good. We need you and your aide."

"Fine. Both of us then."

She narrowed her eyes, then lowered her fist. Shaking her head, she released him and stood. Shaking his head, he felt around his throat. Sore, he thought. That woman had an iron grip. What was with her? He looked over at the dark-haired man behind her. Were they all like this? He'd seen the rest of her squadron. Fighting the large, heavily muscled man would be impossible. It would be like tacking a Zoid, bare-handed.

"You fight well." He said as he stood. "Very well. I will help you. But after that, we are all allowed to go free, regardless of what happens."

She nodded. "Agreed." Turning, she picked up her jacket. "But on one condition. You never, ever come back here again."

"Nothing would make me happier." He replied as he looked around. "Nothing."

Sel had waited until Shepherd, Watanabe and Stratton had left before saying anything. She'd asked Stratton to keep an eye on them. He'd replied that nothing would have made him happier, but his tone had made it hard to tell what he really felt about that. She figured that him, Anna and Stuart could keep them under control. She imagined that the threat of violence from Anna would be enough to keep anyone in line, especially someone who had just received a severe beating.

"Matt." She began. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I'll say now that I didn't enjoy doing it."

He nodded. "Understandable. However, it seemed to bring him around, and that's what you wanted, right."

"Yes." She looked him in the eye. "Sandra told me about him. He is a cold, cruel and despicable man, but we need his support. The Whale King's crew are still loyal to him."

"No, I understand." He said. "I could see his point, but in the long term it was flawed. He couldn't have survived indefinitely."

"No." She said. "I didn't want to attack him like that, really Matt." She sighed. "Its just that, sometimes, a part of me wants to."

"I understand." He said. "It's a part of all of us. I think the cybernetic systems within us somehow change the way we think, even when we're not connected to our Zoids. It makes us more aggressive, more eager to fight. We anger easily, and lash out when angered."

"And against an outsider, and one who had in past attacked us..." She said. "A part of me wanted to just kill him there and then. Really."

"But you were able to control that." He replied.

She nodded. "I didn't... I didn't want to become like him, and like so many others I've seen. I didn't want to be a killer." She knew she'd killed in past. But those had been in combat, behind Zoid armour, in a way remote and detached. It had been a battle, them or her. Kill or be killed. But like that? The thought sickened her. "It's... its like something you told me once. We are taught to be like that. But... but it's wrong, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." He said. "I've always been proud of the way you are able to fight it, however." He admitted. "In a way, you're the strongest person I know."

She slowly walked forwards, so she was standing right in front of him. "We're going to make it through this." She said. "I know we will." She leaned onwards, her head on his shoulder. "I'm just glad you're here, Matt. You... you've been so important to me recently. I... I don't think I could have come this far without you."

"Thank you." He said quietly. "You've become very important to me, Sel. Not just a commander and more then just a friend."

"I know." She said quietly. "I know."

Anna stormed into the Hovercargo, a determined look on her face. Sel and Sandra had told her of the plan, and she had agreed to it. After a bit of persuading, Stuart and Felix had agreed to it as well. Now there was only one person they needed to get on-side.

Reven. Anna didn't know her very well, but she knew her type. Greedy, selfish, conceited... she would never do anything to help anyone unless she got something out of it in return. And Anna doubted that saving the world would be enough motivation for her. She would want something more tangible and material.

Walking into the Hovercargo, she noticed Z-One standing by one of the doors to the ship's small living quarters. Walking over to him, she began. "I need to speak to Reven."

"She's inside." He replied. "But she won't want to see you now."

"Well it's important." Anna replied, angrily. "I need to see her right away."

"She's busy." He replied. "Very, very busy."

"Z-One?" Reven began from the other side of the door. "What's going on out there?"

"Anna wants to talk to you, boss." He replied. "urgently."

"Tell her to go away."

"She isn't"

"Fine." Reven snapped. "Give her an answer to whatever it is and then get rid of her."

"Okay." Z-One cocked his head, then turned back to Anna. "So what's up?"

"We're taking on the Gilvader." Anna replied. 'Between them, Rick, Pants and Sel have a plan to stop it. But we need your help."

"Well, okay." Z-One replied. "Sure thing."

"Thank you." Anna said, shaking his hand. "The fate of the world depends on this."

"Yeah, I know." Z-One shrugged. "Now you better get going before she realises what's happened."

Sandra sat in the Hovercargo's sickbay, watching over Vic. She was curled up on the bed, still muttering to herself. Now comes the hard part, Sandra thought. Rick's plan was reliant on a single element, one that was, right now, effectively out of action. It was Sandra's job to bring her around. At the best of times, Vic was a difficult person to deal with. Now, it would be practically impossible.

She gently put one hand on Vic's shoulder. "Get away form me!" She shouted in reply, and then curled up even tighter, trying to get as far away from Sandra as possible.

Sandra looked away for a moment. "I'm sorry, Vic." She began. "I... we all need your help." Vic didn't seem to reply. "That... that creature, the Gilvader, it did something to you, right?"

There was no response beyond a few sobs.

"I know how you feel." She said. "We're all afraid of it, Vic. And we can't stop it, but you can."

She stopped sobbing for a moment. She wasn't responding to Sandra, but it seemed to be an improvement.

"Vic, you're the only one who can stop that thing." She continued. "Please. I... we need you to confront it and take it on yourself. You're the only one who can do this, however."

She rolled over, for the first time looking at Sandra. She could see the look in Vic's eyes. It was one she'd never seen on Vic before, however. She looked like she was terrified. It was startling. Usually Vic was the one who was scaring other people.

"We need you to fight it." She offered. "You have to do this, Vic. You..." She was trying to look ofr the right words. "You've got to face that big tooly beast and kick it right in the cruets for what it did." She stopped and blinked. Did she really just say that?

"Wha?" Vic muttered.

Sandra sat down next to her. "Please, Vic." She said. "If not for us, then do it for yourself. Get even with it for what it did to you."

Vic nodded.

"Thank you." Sandra said, and offered one of her rare smiles. "I... I'm sorry about this, Vic. really I am. But... but it needs to be done."

Sel looked around at what had become her latest command. She couldn't have imagined a more diverse and mis-matched group if she'd tried. Besides her own men (with Alex looking insufferably smug for some reason, and Bekka who was looking rather excited) there was Sandra and Rick, Anna, Stuart and Felix, Shepherd (who was still bruised from their earlier fight) and Taro, Z-One and Reven (The latter looking decidedly sulky) and finally Darth Pants. She barely knew most of these people, and now she was asking them to place their lives, and everyone else on the planet, in each other's hands. Especially the one of them who was not present.

"What we are about to do may seem foolhardy or dangerous." She began. "But the truth is that we have no other options left. The Gilvader and its master, my former commander, both are a threat to all life on the planet. We have to stop them both and now."

She nodded to Pants. "Darth Pants has devised a system that will allow our Zoids to counteract the nanites that the Gilvader used to take control of them. This has eliminated probably their single most powerful weapon. The enemy will be expecting us to fall under their control, thus giving us an unexpected edge."

"However, that still leaves the Gilvader." She continued. "Nothing we have will work against it. None of our Zoids stand a chance against it. But we do have something else." She paused for a moment. "Most of you are aware of the Deathsaurer kept by our forces. This is an ancient and powerful machine, different from any other Deathsaurer. While powerful, however, it's also uncontrollable. Only one person has ever been able to operate it, and that was Vic Hagen."

"Our first objective then is to steal this machine." She explained. "It is kept in a secure hanger, almost directly below us. My plan is for us to go in and secure the machine itself. Once in, we will open the hangar doors and lift it out with the Whale King." She turned to her men. "This will not be easy. Our own people will try to stop us from taking it, and we must be ready to defend ourselves from them."

"After that, we will redeploy to the Gilvader's launch site and attack the enemy. The basic plan is that we allow the Deathsaurer to engage the Gilvader directly, while we support it by engaging the other enemy Zoids. Pants believes that once the Gilvader is eliminated, the other Zoids will likely be released form its control."

"One question, Captain." Shepherd began, emphasising her rank. "Do you know where the Gilvader is?"

"Yes, I do." She replied. Actually, she didn't, but she had a pretty good idea. "There is a plateau about a hundred kilometers north-west of here. It's a large, flat, open area that would be suitable to establish a launch facility in. Additionally, the site is off-limits to our people, which means that nobody would normally go there, providing secrecy and security for the site. Finally, there is... equipment there which could be used in the construction and launching of a space vehicle."

As one, Bekka, Bob and Alex looked at her. "I'll explain later." She offered before turning back to the others. "We will split into two teams. I will lead the first team, and Sandra the second. Both of us have spent a lot of time in the city's crawlways and tunnels between levels. Sandra will try and retrace the route Hagen took to reach the Deathsaurer, while I will try to find another way around. Pants will remain here to finish repairs on the Whale King."

She looked around her men again. "I'm not going to pretend that this will be easy. Since the attack last year, security around the Deathsaurer will have been tightened. And with the power off and the city apparently under siege, the troops on foot down there will likely be very angry and trigger-happy. But we have to do it. Not just for our sakes, but for the whole planet."

Rose looked up at the Liger's display. Two in the morning, or thereabouts. How long had she been here, she wondered. She and Slaughter had been just... talking for the last few hours. Ever since she'd mentioned the Gilvader, he'd seemed to open up. It was like he knew that it had awakened and what had happened, and was looking forwards to their certain doom with glee.

"Question." She began. "You said the Gilvader was one of your creations. There were others?"

"Indeed." He said. "Most of them were creations of pure Starrior technology and I know they no longer exist. There are a few others, however. Like the Deathsaurer."

"The Deathsaurer?" She asked. Now this was interesting. "But there are many Deathsaurers. True, they're far from common, but it's not unique."

"Interesting." He replied. "I created the first one myself. Clearly, it was more successful then the Gilvader, its intended replacement."

"Tell me about it." She continued, a thought forming in her head. She had a horrible feeling she knew where this was going.

"Like the Gilvader, its AI was based on my own." He said. "Only a few would be able to control it. Anyone else would be violently rejected"

That sounded familiar. "Modern Deathsaurers are black." She said. "Older ones are a more brownish colour. Would it look like one of those?"

"No." He replied. "The Deathsaurer I created was red, similar to the colour of your blood."