Chapter Ten: Our Man Reevan, Part Two
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"Commander Reevan!"

"…And if he doesn't show me some respect soon, I'm going to walk out the bloody-huh? Yes, what is it?"

"Several of our fighters got taken down, sir…"

"WHAT!? Are you kidding me?! If you're kidding me, I'll kill you! Please say you're kidding me!!"

"It's true. Apparently, they jumped a group of VF-11s, then got jumped themselves by another flight of -11s."

"Damn! There'll be the devil to pay after this is over…!" Reevan put a hand to his forehead.

Somewhere southeast of Reevan's group, the entirety of Cavalier Squadron had formed up and was back on the trail.

"Attention all Cavaliers, this is Control. We might have just found your targets. Our radar suddenly showed a set of blips moving toward our base. They've disappeared again, but you should still be able to catch them from behind in around 25 minutes assuming they haven't changed speed."

John looked at his radar. "Blue 1 to Green and Red Leaders. I suggest we try and pick them up with our ground radar. If we know their position, we'll be able to outflank them."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Green 1.

"All right," said Red 1. "Blue Leader, have your boys split to the west slightly and look around there. Green Leader, take your group to the east. Red Flight will continue on this course and scan. As soon we find those suckers, we'll converge and give them a nasty surprise!"

Back at base…

"Uh…hello out there? Are you going to help me out yet or not?"

Kina was still stuck in the armor. Not only would it not move, but the top wouldn't open, either.

"Hey! This really sucks! Aren't you going to help me?" she whined over the loudspeaker system built into the armor.

"We're trying, ma'am!" said a human engineer. "Just stay calm, okay?"

"Aw…why me…?"

The engineer who had spoken pulled one of his comrades aside.

"So, what do you think?"

"I say…slice it."

The external audio pickup system registered that last sentence quite clearly in Kina's ears. "Excuse me…did somebody say 'Slice it'? Please don't joke around with me…!" she said with nervous chuckles and a sweatdrop.

"Right. Get the laser torches."

Kina gulped. "L-laser torches? Wait, wait…it's really not all that bad in here! I'm fine, really! You don't need to resort to THOSE kinds of measures, right…?"

They brought up a modified destroid with a cutting laser.

"Okay, right across the chest!"

"No!" squeaked Kina.

"Hey, shouldn't we put some flame retardant on the surface we're cutting, in case it gets too hot?"

"Nah, there's no time for flame retardant."

"There's always time for flame retardant!!" cried Kina. The laser started cutting into the armor. "Oh, God! I'm gonna be roasted!! This is scary!!!"

"Hey, any chance on cutting through that loudspeaker system?"

"Hey! I heard that…!"

"…Go for it."

"You guys are all really mean!!"

Meanwhile, back in the air, Blue Flight had found their target.

"This is Blue 1 to flight leaders! We've spotted the ground units on radar, still headed for the base at a good clip. We're transmitting the directional data now!"

"Roger."

"Roger."

"Blue 1 to all Blues, hang on. We're gonna hit them as soon as we're formed up!"

On the desert floor, Reevan's team was still advancing.

"Sir…how much further is it?" said one of the Zentraedi armor pilots.

"I don't know, damn it! We're not even sure where it is exactly yet, so shut your bleeding hole!"

"Uh, Commander?"

"WHAT?!"

"Eh…well, I thought you'd just like to know that my threat warning system says somebody's painting us with radar beams again."

Reevan swore under his breath. "Where from…?"

"Behind us. Looks like air radar."

"All right, tell the VF units to converge back there and catch them before they can get to us."

Upon joining back up again, Cavalier Squadron descended to under 1000 feet AGL and headed right for the ground contacts.

Tommy suddenly picked something up on his radar screen.

"Hey, John? I'm showing several air contacts heading this way."

"Air contacts? I thought I said to use ground radar."

"Sorry, but I just had a bad feeling and checked. I think you guys were right about more air threats."

"Hmm…confirmed. Blue 1 to flight leaders. We've got a problem. More airborne contacts are approaching us from 10 through 3 o'clock."

"I see them," said Red 1. "All right…Blue Flight, how is your missile situation?"

"We're all out of the high-maneuvers," said John. "We'll need to get in some kind of first strike…"

"Okay…let's try this. Red 3 and 4 will join your group, and hit the ground units with you."

"This is Green 1. Green 3 and Green 4 are raring to strafe up some ground targets, too. I can spare them."

"Roger that," said John.

"I'm also going to contact home plate and tell them to send Crow Squadron out here with their Star Mirages. They'll give us a hand in keeping the fighters off of your butts. Good luck, Blues."

"Same to you, Red Leader. All right, people. Let's give them a nasty surprise!"

The group of eight aircraft moved on, unaware that their cover was already blown…

"They're getting closer now, sir. The spikes are getting stronger."

"…All right, lads. Contingency plan. Turn it around!"

"What?"

"Face 'em! They'll be expecting to get a clean shot at our backs, but instead they'll fly right into our guns!"

Upon reaching the 80-mile mark, the Green and Red fighters moved up in the formation. They got locks with their medium-range high-maneuverability missiles, and opened fire. Eight missiles headed for their targets.

"Missile warning!" cried one of the Zentraedi soldiers.

"Don't just stand there, idiots! Blast 'em out of the sky!!" They opened fire, trying to hit the missiles as they got within range of their guns. Reevan's accurate shots took down a few missiles, but the wild shots of his subordinates missed consistently. About four of them, all Regult pods, were destroyed. A single Renegade was hit and badly damaged.

"Oh, bollacks…!"

The eight variable fighters sped up, and descended even more.

"Get ready for a quick missile run, boys! They're going to be ticked after that!! Hey, Tommy, are you okay back there?"

"I'm good, man. I'll be better once this is over, but…"

"Just checking. All right, here we go!" They reached SRM range and unleashed a huge swarm of missiles into Reevan's group. Tommy and John were now out of missiles. Everyone else still had a couple.

"Tommy, let's go to Soldier mode and land. Everyone else, give us cover until you're Winchester!"

"Right!"

"All the way in, sir!"

The two Thunderbolts transformed, and alighted on the ground. They had a decent view of the chaos in Reevan's ranks. Most of the armors there were boosting around like crazy to avoid the missiles…and some of them failed. Wreckage littered the ground at their feet from damaged or destroyed units.

"Damn it, you fools! Stay calm!" shouted Reevan. "Stop acting like a bunch of children!"

"But they're shooting at us!"

"I'LL shoot you if you don't get it together!!!"

"Y-yes, sir!!"

Meanwhile, Tommy and John were slowly flanking Reevan's group, approaching them from the side.

"So, what are we gonna do, John?"

"We'll wait right here, and hope they don't catch us until at least two of our pals get down here. You see what I see?"

Tommy looked carefully out at the armors. "Hey…that must be the Glaug that busted up Green Flight a while back!"

"Yeah…only it's not just a Glaug. Look at those arms, and the main body!"

"…You're right…that's a U.N. Spacy Neo Glaug…or at least, it used to be a Spacy Neo Glaug. The 'Heads must've swiped it and performed one hell of an overhaul on her."

"That'd be my guess-whoa!" A Renegade suddenly opened fire on them. "We've been busted! Let's move!"

The Renegade that had attacked them boosted after him, only to eat two pairs of short-range missiles in the chest and explode.

"What?! Two of them landed?" shouted Reevan.

"Yes, sir. Should we pursue?"

"…No. I'll handle those insolent brats myself." Reevan's Neo Glaug boosted upward, transformed into its flight mode, and flew in the direction of Tommy and John's Thunderbolts.

"Whew! They got that sucker!" said Tommy. "Thank God!"

"Yeah, it's…oh, boy…!"

"What is it?" asked Tommy.

"Look!" Tommy turned around…and saw what was coming after them.

"Hit the deck!" Both Thunderbolts ducked as the Neo Glaug buzzed them. It passed behind them, then converted back to its walking form and spun back around, landing on the desert floor.

Tommy noticed a light on his comm system. "Hey, John! I'm being signaled from a different frequency. You?"

"Same. I think he wants to have a word with us…" They switched frequencies. "Who is this?"

"Well, well, well. You two have obviously been very naughty boys, trying to sneak up on us like that. Where IS your honor?"

Tommy and John sweatdropped.

"A British…"

"…Zentraedi."

A popped vein appeared on Reevan's forehead. "I'm a HALF-Zentraedi, you bloody imbeciles!"

"Whatever," said John. "What the hell do you want?"

"Insolent…I just wanted to meet my enemies before I blast them into bits."

"Oh yeah? Well, take a quick look skyward before you make a final decision on that."

"What are you talking about-BLOODY HELL!" A missile swarm was headed right for him. He instantly boosted away and shot down most of the missiles with his light autocannons. The rest were easily dodged. Tommy and John stared, dumbstruck.

"I don't believe it…he really got away from that!" thought Tommy.

Reevan laughed haughtily. "Any more surprises? No? Oh, bother…I suppose I'll just have to make sport of splattering your machines all over this desert!" The transmission cut out.

John scowled. "Tommy…"

"Yeah?"

"Brace yourself. This is going to be a killer!"

Reevan opened fire with his heavy particle cannon as he landed. Tommy and John boosted away in opposite directions. Reevan turned towards John, and unleashed a barrage of missiles at him.

"Think again!" John fired his gun pod, shooting down each of the missiles as they came. He then aimed for the Neo Glaug and fired. Reevan simply boosted to the side to avoid the attack.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Tommy now had a shot at Reevan, and took it, expecting to catch him off guard. To his dismay, Reevan saw it coming and shot up into the sky. He then turned towards Tommy's Thunderbolt and fired more particle blasts.

"Whoa!" Tommy jumped his fighter backwards to avoid the shots, then flipped the head laser forward and fired a few pulses. Again, Reevan easily dodged the attacks.

"Damn it…John, we're in trouble. He's too fast to hit!" snarled Tommy.

"Take it easy, buddy. We can beat this guy!"

Reevan now fired his light autocannons at Tommy. Tommy easily blocked the attack with his anti-projectile shield, but was constantly being driven back.

"John, he's all over me!"

"Hang on, I've got you covered!" John rushed forward and again tried to hit Reevan with several bursts from the gun pod. This time, Reevan was clipped by a few shots before getting clear.

"Grr…you stupid…!" The damage was trivial, but just the realization that he had been hit angered Reevan greatly. "You'll pay for that!" He faced John again and fired a combination of particle blasts and missiles. John got out of the way of the particle blasts, but he couldn't get all of the missiles with his gun pod and barely managed to get his shield in front of them before they hit. Luckily, the shield was designed to withstand missiles as well as bullets.

Tommy, meanwhile, transformed to Fighter mode and climbed up into the sky. He got to about 1000 feet, and then pulled back downward in a partial split-S. He was in a full nosedive.

"Eat this!!" Tommy fired his gun pod again, raining bullets onto the Neo Glaug.

Reevan looked up and saw the bullet shower coming for him. He boosted backwards, managing to dodge the lethal spray, and then tilted his particle cannon upward, firing multiple blasts at the diving aircraft.

"Oh, no!" Tommy transformed to GERWALK mode, and managed to avoid being shredded with a few quick dodges. He then transformed into Soldier mode and attempted to fire again. Unfortunately, his ears were greeted by the "clip empty" warning sound.

"Oh, no! I'm out of ammo! John, help!"

"Coming right up!" John took aim with his head laser and fired at Reevan. The Neo Glaug again simply boosted away from the line of fire, but this gave Tommy the breathing room he needed as he pulled his Thunderbolt into a hover.

"I guess now's as good a time as any to change clips," muttered Tommy as he dumped the empty clip and replaced it with a fresh one.

"Tommy, you reloaded yet?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Get back down here!" Tommy transformed back to Fighter mode to descend. As he did, Reevan locked onto him and fired his last few missiles at Tommy.

"Tommy, look out!" cried John.

"Oh, hell…!" Tommy dumped his flares, throwing off most of the missiles. A couple were still on him, though.

"Tommy, go to Soldier mode and block with your shield!"

"Right!" Tommy transformed, and barely managed to get the shield in the right position before it was hammered. The impact knocked his Thunderbolt backwards and caused it to fall over.

"Are you all right, man?"

"…I'm fine."

Reevan fired more autocannon rounds, which Tommy managed to block with the shield as he got up. John fired a short burst of his gun pod to distract Reevan. The attempt succeeded, but now John's gun was empty. As he reloaded, Reevan saw his chance.

"Now, you die!!" He prepared to fire his particle cannon again, but was stopped by a sudden blast from Tommy that struck the side of the Neo Glaug. "What?! You little twit! I'll teach you!"

"Wow…I finally got a hit in on that guy!"

"Nice shooting, Tommy, but I think we've been playing this wrong. What's the biggest weakness that the Neo Glaug has?"

"Got me."

"It's got almost nothing but long-range weapons!" This point was emphasized by the three particle blasts that came their way. As they dodged, John continued to speak. "It's got almost nothing for close-in fighting!"

Tommy thought for a second, and then brightened. "Are you thinking about what I think you're thinking about?"

John grinned. "Ready bayonets!" Both Thunderbolts deployed their anti-armor bayonet blades. They then rushed the Neo Glaug.

Reevan laughed. "Oh, rushing in to meet your deaths, eh? Good-bye!!" He tried to hit them with autocannons, but they managed to block the shots all the way in with their shields. Reevan growled. "Impossible!"

"Tommy, NOW!!" shouted John as they reached the Glaug. Tommy's Thunderbolt stopped boosting, kicked its legs under itself, squatted, and leapt forward. As he passed the Neo Glaug, he swung his bayonet, cleanly slicing the heavy particle cannon off at its mount on top of the pod. At the same time, John aimed a low swing at the Neo Glaug, removing the machine's right leg and causing it to collapse to the ground.

"Ha!! We did it!!!" cried Tommy.

"He ain't going to be so cocky anymore!" replied John. Both Thunderbolts walked around the disabled Neo Glaug, pointing their gun pods at it.

"Freeze right there, pal! You can consider yourself a prisoner of the U.N. Spacy," said John over the comm system. "Come on out with no sidearm and your hands where we can see 'em!"

Reevan laughed. "I don't think so, you bloody fool…I'm in a mood to go out with a bang…nudge, nudge, wink, wink." He pressed a button on his instrument panel. "See you in hell!"

John's eyes grew wide. "Tommy, he's gonna blow it up! Let's go!!!!" They quickly transformed to Fighter mode and blazed away just as the tremendous explosion of its self-destruct system consumed the Neo Glaug.

"Whew…" said Tommy, "that was too close!"

"Yeah…but at least he's toast. Hey…what about the rest of the armors?"

"This is Green 3. All of the remaining powered armors and battlepods have been eliminated."

John sweatdropped. "Well, that answers that question. Blue 1 here. Did you capture any of them?"

"Negative, Blue Leader. We tried, but the disabled ones just blew themselves to hell."

"Damn. Blue 1 to flight leaders, what's your status?"

"This is Red 1. We've managed to finish off the incoming fighters, and are heading in to assist the ground battle."

"Don't worry about that, it's all been said and done here."

"I see. Glad to hear it. I guess that's a mission accomplished, then."

"Roger that. Hey, Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"That was a sweet move, man. You lopped that cannon off like a pro!"

Tommy blushed. "…Thanks, man."

John smiled. "All right, boys, we're finished here. Let's bring it on home…and get some rest!"