Brad walked down the hall with Dana at his side. He was telling her about
various teams in the league and pointing out other warriors to her. The
newbie was enjoying it immensely. She couldn't imagine her luck. Not only
was Griftor being serviced, but now she had managed to get on an excellent
team too. Things just might work out after all she thought.
Brad was thinking along similar lines. Just by chance he had met up again
with the pilot and zoid that had managed to somehow outrun him and the
Shadowfox. It would be interesting to find out how Dana had done that.
But he was glad that Doc had managed to get her to join them and not some
other team. Although it would be kind of fun to face off with her, he had
the feeling that Dana and her zoid were not people you wanted as an
opponent. She moved with the grace and confidence of an experienced
warrior, even though she looked young. And she was sort of cute. He
decided that it would be worth it to get to know her better.
"Look over there. They have some simulator games if you want to try them
out," he said. It wouldn't be a bad idea to see how good she was.
"Sure. Lead the way."
Griftor was content. It was finally getting a good overhaul. The last one was months ago, long before its pilot knew that she had been chosen for this assignment. The zoid relaxed and let the human technicians go all over him. It had almost mellowed out when it sensed something. It was something that Griftor hadn't felt in a long time. One of its 'children' was here with it. The zoid sought out the source and found it. It was coming from the Leager model next to it. If Griftor was human, it would have smiled broadly and embraced its child. Leager was pleasantly surprised to find its sire here with it in the hangar. The two of them hadn't seen each other for centuries it seems like. It hoped (as much as it was capable of hoping) that the sire would stay. It would be good to catch up and find out what had been going on in the universe. As the techs went over the machines, they talked to each other, catching up and getting reacquainted.
Jack Sisco was enjoying himself. His Lightning Sike was getting an overhaul along with the rest of the Lightning Team's zoids and he thought that he would pass the time playing his favorite simulator game. And he was doing well this round. He had beaten most of his other opponents and the only two left were Harry Champ and Leon Toros. It shouldn't be too hard to beat Champ, but Leon was another matter. He was a worthy opponent and worth taking the time to fight. Jack's attention was caught when he noticed that someone else besides him and Leon was shooting at Harry. "Now, I wonder who that could be?" he muttered and focused his attention on the new player. After a few minutes, it was evident that this guy was no rookie. The way that he or she moved the zoid was impressive and had taken Harry out in only a few shots. Now the player's focus was on Leon. "Well, well. Let's see what you can do," Jack muttered and decided to try him or her out.
"Aaargh. I can't believe that I lost," Harry wailed as he stepped out of the booth. He had been going up against Jack Sisco of the Lightning Team and Lena's brother Leon from the Flugal team. All right, he had to admit that the Champ hadn't been too well during the game, but he thought that he had Leon cornered when someone else started shooting at him and blew him out of the game. "Gee, Harry, lost again, did ya? Maybe you should practice more," Bit said from behind. Harry nearly jumped at the sound of his rival, turned, and glared at him in rage. "Well, if you're so good, Bit Cloud, why don't you go in there and fight!" he exclaimed. He noticed that Lena and Jamie were also there, standing a little ways back from Bit, looking at the screen. "Wow, whoever did that is good," Jamie commented. Lena agreed, "Yeah, he is. I wonder who that pilot is?" Harry was shocked. "But, Lena darling, don't you care that, that person blew my zoid up!" Lena turned to him as if just noticing that he was there for the first time (and it was). She shook her head. "No, Harry. I honestly can't. You're a marginal warrior while this guy." "Just froze Leon's zoid!" Bit cried out. The group turned back to the screen and saw that it was true. The unknown pilot had Leon chasing to a cliff. Then the pilot rebounded off of the cliff wall and fired point blank at Leon, taking him down and out of the game. "Hey, he is good," Harry grudgingly admitted. "Who's good?" Brad asked as he and Dana walked up to them. As Jamie gave them an update, Leon had gotten out and had noticed the Blitz team. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to say hello to the old gang and find out who that cute girl with Brad was. "Hey everyone. How are you doing?" "We're all right. Just came in for an overhaul before the next challenge," Bit said. "So, who is this lovely young lady with you, Brad?" Leon asked looking at Dana. Dana blushed as Brad made the necessary introductions. She wasn't use to having guys compliment her like that, although Leon wasn't the first. "Any idea who that guy was that defeated you, Leon?" Lena asked. It was now down to Jack Sisco and the stranger. Right now, the two were playing a combination of cat-and-mouse with hide-and-seek. None of them knew who was winning at the moment. "Not a clue. He just showed up in the middle of battle and went after Harry," Leon answered, his eyes focused on the screen above them. The stalemate continued on for a while when suddenly Jack's zoid went down into a large hole, pinning him down, unable to move. The other pilot quickly appeared and finished the job off. Jack had lost and the stranger had won. They could all hear Jack as he began swearing and generally throwing a tantrum. He stormed out of the booth, looking for the pilot that had defeated him. Dana wasn't impressed. "Geez, can't the guy lose gracefully? It's not that big a deal. It's only a game," she said. "Yeah, but it's a game that he's very good at. It hurts his ego that someone else beat him," commented Bit. Dana earlier mood remained. She had to admit that she had her prideful moments, but they were few. In her eyes, Jack had too much pride. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone that was most likely the winner of that game. He was a tall man a few years her senior with wavy blond hair and green eyes. He wore glasses which seemed to keep sliding down his nose. The man was dressed casually, not like a zoid pilot at all. He generated an air of trust and confidence. Dana covered her mouth with her fist to keep from smiling. She should have known, the stunt that brought Jack down was a trademark of his. But she couldn't say anything, not now at least. He walked up to the fuming Jack and extended a hand to the pilot. "Good game. You're quite good at handling a zoid. But you should work on paying a closer attention to your opponents, you know? Your sensors should have noticed that I was staying in one place for too long; and if you had just avoided that one spot, you would have been fine," he said. Dana had to bite her knuckles to keep from laughing. Jack looked shocked at meeting the victor and didn't seem to appreciate the advice being handed down to him. He was almost growling and would have probably jumped him if Leon hadn't stepped forward and began to shake the offered hand. "You weren't so bad yourself. Where did you learn a move like that?" "From my father. He's a zoid pilot, like my sister. My name is Ben," Ben had seen Dana standing here and neglected to mention his last name. Good thing, it would have lead to questions that shouldn't be answered right now. "What team are you on?" Leon asked. Ben looked confused. "Team?" "Yeah, what team? Because I think that you would make a great addition to my team, the Flugal team," replied Leon. Ben smiled. "Oh, but I'm not on any team. I'm not even a real warrior like you guys are." Everyone except for Dana looked at him, surprised. She was trying to keep from bursting out laughing. "You're not," Bit finally said. "No, I'm a general practioner, a doctor," he said. Now everyone's jaws had dropped. Ben had the good sense to quickly say good-bye and leave before anyone recovered. Jack overcame the news first and started to go after Ben in full rage. Leon and Harry went after Jack to try to calm him down. Bit, Lena, and Jamie broke down laughing. Brad laughed with them but he was studying Dana out of the corner of his eye. Out of all of them, she seemed the least surprised about Ben. What did that mean? He realized that she hadn't told him much about her and her past this whole time. He needed to sit her down and really talked to her. This girl seemed to have a lot of mystery about her. For some reason, that fascinated him about the new pilot.
He was bored. Bored, bored, BORED!! All of Mouse's friends and usual game playing buddies were either out on the scouting mission on this new planet or busy around base camp. Which left him with nothing to do when he wasn't working with his computers. The only other person here that was close to his age technically was Lily. But she wasn't any fun. She had the mental and personal maturity of an eight- year-old. The girl didn't know much about computers unless they pertained to her Rainos. All she would want to play was cards, and Mouse sucked at cards. Mouse was a lanky boy of fourteen with short, unkempt black hair and pale eyes. He wore a special pair of goggles when he was on the computers to save his eyesight. His clothes seemed to be too large for his compact frame but he was comfortable in them. Mouse was one of those people that were better at dealing with computers then with people. But Lady Sol insisted that he come out of his hole once in a while, and she wasn't one of those people that you could refuse easily. His job at base camp was to gather what information he could on the net of this planet. Mouse had already sent out various programs to check out the pilots and their zoids. And to see how the scouts were doing. Until then though, he had nothing to do. "I hope something happens soon and the others would come back. I miss them," he said to no one. "So do I, Mouse," a voice replied. The boy jumped at the sound and nearly fell out of his chair. Behind him was a tall man in his fifties with graying red hair and full beard. His face was weathered but still looked kind. Despite his age, his body was still in top condition and he was currently dressed in casual clothing. The way the man stood gave the impression that he was a man of military training. And that he was no stranger to battle He said nothing to Mouse as he came over and sat beside him. "I just hope that Johnson leaves this planet alone," he commented. Mouse's face fell and shook his head. "Doubtful, sir. This place is primed for an invasion. They don't have space travel, which means that they're isolated from anyone else. They use zoids, but not for military applications. I think that it would be kinda easy for her to come in and take over." Admiral Sol nodded and rested his chin on his folded hands. "Which is exactly what we are going to try to prevent, Mouse. Any data on her plans yet?" "No, sir. But the gang just got my gear set up last night. It will take me a while to get back up to speed." "Well, let me know when you do. As always, time is of the essence. And something that we never seem to have enough of."
Griftor was content. It was finally getting a good overhaul. The last one was months ago, long before its pilot knew that she had been chosen for this assignment. The zoid relaxed and let the human technicians go all over him. It had almost mellowed out when it sensed something. It was something that Griftor hadn't felt in a long time. One of its 'children' was here with it. The zoid sought out the source and found it. It was coming from the Leager model next to it. If Griftor was human, it would have smiled broadly and embraced its child. Leager was pleasantly surprised to find its sire here with it in the hangar. The two of them hadn't seen each other for centuries it seems like. It hoped (as much as it was capable of hoping) that the sire would stay. It would be good to catch up and find out what had been going on in the universe. As the techs went over the machines, they talked to each other, catching up and getting reacquainted.
Jack Sisco was enjoying himself. His Lightning Sike was getting an overhaul along with the rest of the Lightning Team's zoids and he thought that he would pass the time playing his favorite simulator game. And he was doing well this round. He had beaten most of his other opponents and the only two left were Harry Champ and Leon Toros. It shouldn't be too hard to beat Champ, but Leon was another matter. He was a worthy opponent and worth taking the time to fight. Jack's attention was caught when he noticed that someone else besides him and Leon was shooting at Harry. "Now, I wonder who that could be?" he muttered and focused his attention on the new player. After a few minutes, it was evident that this guy was no rookie. The way that he or she moved the zoid was impressive and had taken Harry out in only a few shots. Now the player's focus was on Leon. "Well, well. Let's see what you can do," Jack muttered and decided to try him or her out.
"Aaargh. I can't believe that I lost," Harry wailed as he stepped out of the booth. He had been going up against Jack Sisco of the Lightning Team and Lena's brother Leon from the Flugal team. All right, he had to admit that the Champ hadn't been too well during the game, but he thought that he had Leon cornered when someone else started shooting at him and blew him out of the game. "Gee, Harry, lost again, did ya? Maybe you should practice more," Bit said from behind. Harry nearly jumped at the sound of his rival, turned, and glared at him in rage. "Well, if you're so good, Bit Cloud, why don't you go in there and fight!" he exclaimed. He noticed that Lena and Jamie were also there, standing a little ways back from Bit, looking at the screen. "Wow, whoever did that is good," Jamie commented. Lena agreed, "Yeah, he is. I wonder who that pilot is?" Harry was shocked. "But, Lena darling, don't you care that, that person blew my zoid up!" Lena turned to him as if just noticing that he was there for the first time (and it was). She shook her head. "No, Harry. I honestly can't. You're a marginal warrior while this guy." "Just froze Leon's zoid!" Bit cried out. The group turned back to the screen and saw that it was true. The unknown pilot had Leon chasing to a cliff. Then the pilot rebounded off of the cliff wall and fired point blank at Leon, taking him down and out of the game. "Hey, he is good," Harry grudgingly admitted. "Who's good?" Brad asked as he and Dana walked up to them. As Jamie gave them an update, Leon had gotten out and had noticed the Blitz team. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to say hello to the old gang and find out who that cute girl with Brad was. "Hey everyone. How are you doing?" "We're all right. Just came in for an overhaul before the next challenge," Bit said. "So, who is this lovely young lady with you, Brad?" Leon asked looking at Dana. Dana blushed as Brad made the necessary introductions. She wasn't use to having guys compliment her like that, although Leon wasn't the first. "Any idea who that guy was that defeated you, Leon?" Lena asked. It was now down to Jack Sisco and the stranger. Right now, the two were playing a combination of cat-and-mouse with hide-and-seek. None of them knew who was winning at the moment. "Not a clue. He just showed up in the middle of battle and went after Harry," Leon answered, his eyes focused on the screen above them. The stalemate continued on for a while when suddenly Jack's zoid went down into a large hole, pinning him down, unable to move. The other pilot quickly appeared and finished the job off. Jack had lost and the stranger had won. They could all hear Jack as he began swearing and generally throwing a tantrum. He stormed out of the booth, looking for the pilot that had defeated him. Dana wasn't impressed. "Geez, can't the guy lose gracefully? It's not that big a deal. It's only a game," she said. "Yeah, but it's a game that he's very good at. It hurts his ego that someone else beat him," commented Bit. Dana earlier mood remained. She had to admit that she had her prideful moments, but they were few. In her eyes, Jack had too much pride. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone that was most likely the winner of that game. He was a tall man a few years her senior with wavy blond hair and green eyes. He wore glasses which seemed to keep sliding down his nose. The man was dressed casually, not like a zoid pilot at all. He generated an air of trust and confidence. Dana covered her mouth with her fist to keep from smiling. She should have known, the stunt that brought Jack down was a trademark of his. But she couldn't say anything, not now at least. He walked up to the fuming Jack and extended a hand to the pilot. "Good game. You're quite good at handling a zoid. But you should work on paying a closer attention to your opponents, you know? Your sensors should have noticed that I was staying in one place for too long; and if you had just avoided that one spot, you would have been fine," he said. Dana had to bite her knuckles to keep from laughing. Jack looked shocked at meeting the victor and didn't seem to appreciate the advice being handed down to him. He was almost growling and would have probably jumped him if Leon hadn't stepped forward and began to shake the offered hand. "You weren't so bad yourself. Where did you learn a move like that?" "From my father. He's a zoid pilot, like my sister. My name is Ben," Ben had seen Dana standing here and neglected to mention his last name. Good thing, it would have lead to questions that shouldn't be answered right now. "What team are you on?" Leon asked. Ben looked confused. "Team?" "Yeah, what team? Because I think that you would make a great addition to my team, the Flugal team," replied Leon. Ben smiled. "Oh, but I'm not on any team. I'm not even a real warrior like you guys are." Everyone except for Dana looked at him, surprised. She was trying to keep from bursting out laughing. "You're not," Bit finally said. "No, I'm a general practioner, a doctor," he said. Now everyone's jaws had dropped. Ben had the good sense to quickly say good-bye and leave before anyone recovered. Jack overcame the news first and started to go after Ben in full rage. Leon and Harry went after Jack to try to calm him down. Bit, Lena, and Jamie broke down laughing. Brad laughed with them but he was studying Dana out of the corner of his eye. Out of all of them, she seemed the least surprised about Ben. What did that mean? He realized that she hadn't told him much about her and her past this whole time. He needed to sit her down and really talked to her. This girl seemed to have a lot of mystery about her. For some reason, that fascinated him about the new pilot.
He was bored. Bored, bored, BORED!! All of Mouse's friends and usual game playing buddies were either out on the scouting mission on this new planet or busy around base camp. Which left him with nothing to do when he wasn't working with his computers. The only other person here that was close to his age technically was Lily. But she wasn't any fun. She had the mental and personal maturity of an eight- year-old. The girl didn't know much about computers unless they pertained to her Rainos. All she would want to play was cards, and Mouse sucked at cards. Mouse was a lanky boy of fourteen with short, unkempt black hair and pale eyes. He wore a special pair of goggles when he was on the computers to save his eyesight. His clothes seemed to be too large for his compact frame but he was comfortable in them. Mouse was one of those people that were better at dealing with computers then with people. But Lady Sol insisted that he come out of his hole once in a while, and she wasn't one of those people that you could refuse easily. His job at base camp was to gather what information he could on the net of this planet. Mouse had already sent out various programs to check out the pilots and their zoids. And to see how the scouts were doing. Until then though, he had nothing to do. "I hope something happens soon and the others would come back. I miss them," he said to no one. "So do I, Mouse," a voice replied. The boy jumped at the sound and nearly fell out of his chair. Behind him was a tall man in his fifties with graying red hair and full beard. His face was weathered but still looked kind. Despite his age, his body was still in top condition and he was currently dressed in casual clothing. The way the man stood gave the impression that he was a man of military training. And that he was no stranger to battle He said nothing to Mouse as he came over and sat beside him. "I just hope that Johnson leaves this planet alone," he commented. Mouse's face fell and shook his head. "Doubtful, sir. This place is primed for an invasion. They don't have space travel, which means that they're isolated from anyone else. They use zoids, but not for military applications. I think that it would be kinda easy for her to come in and take over." Admiral Sol nodded and rested his chin on his folded hands. "Which is exactly what we are going to try to prevent, Mouse. Any data on her plans yet?" "No, sir. But the gang just got my gear set up last night. It will take me a while to get back up to speed." "Well, let me know when you do. As always, time is of the essence. And something that we never seem to have enough of."