Zoids: A New Beginning

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own zoids nor am associated with its owners.

Bit slumped into the couch, exhausted. With Jamie and the Doc's help, they had managed to recover the Gunsniper and the Shadowfox. Brad was no worse for his ordeal, but Leena had suffered a bad concussion. Right now, she was in her room, still out cold.

The Doctor they had taken her to (Toros was not a medical doctor) said there would be no lasting damage. He had then given her a sedative to help with the recovery. "Activity will slow the recovery progress," he had said, "And particularly stressful activity may change the prognosis and leave lasting damage."

Dr. Toros had gotten in touch with the Chairman of the Zoid Battle Commission. The Chairman said that he would most certainly look into rumors regarding the new Backdraft Group and would contact the Toros Base with any information.

The damage to the Shadowfox was easily repaired. The structural damaged mostly consisted of some bent pieces of the frame, easily replaced. The Gunsniper's level of damage, from its long tumble down the cliff, was much higher. In addition to the severely damaged structure, key circuits had been broken, and the weapons had to be reattached. Further, there was some auxiliary damage from the near miss of the Genosaurer's charged particle cannon.

Per the Doctor's request (Toros that is), the Blitz Team had been given temporary leave while Leena was recovering.

On board the Ultrasaurus that served as the Zoid Battle Commission's home base, the Chairman scratched his chin, deep in thought. The news that the Backdraft Group had resurfaced made him anxious. The Backdraft Group had been a dangerous organization before, now it appeared that this new incarnation was using the Zoid Battle Commission's own judges in their unsanctioned battles.

Who had the resources to run such a complex and secretive organization? The previous group had been more like the Zoid Battle Commission's evil twin. This organization was more like a shadow. It did not really seem to exist, yet it was there.

Stroma looked over the warriors of his Strike Team. Garret, the team's leader was impossible to read his face impassive. The other two warriors, Jeremy and Daniel, looked slightly crestfallen. It was understandable, considering they had lost their first battle. So much for the new Backdraft Group's glorious debut.

Yet, Stroma was not actually disappointed in them. The battle had given him an idea of the team's strength's and weaknesses. He knew they had seen their own errors as well. Garret had been piloting the Genosaurer, a zoid fit only for the team leader. Jeremy had been piloting the Shield Liger and Daniel the Gunbluster.

"You have fought well for your first battle. I did not expect last from the finest team in my organization's predecessor," he began, "The purpose of this battle was not necessarily to win, but rather to give you an idea of your own abilities. You shall go into battle again, whether you win or loose is not important, what is, is that you learn."

Over a period of three weeks, the Backdraft Group took over six battles and won them all. Rumors continued to spread of the mysterious organization. The Chairman was in distress. He couldn't do nothing, yet, the only thing he could do was nothing. Despite the rise in the number of battles taken over, he had no information, nothing that would allow him a predictive edge over the Backdraft, nothing even to counter their actions.

At the Toros Base, Dr. Toros blessed the Blitz Team with good news, sort of. "Our accounts have unexpectedly increased," said Toros, "The money was transferred immediately after the hijacked battle."

"How much was it?" asked Brad, always keen on money matters.

"Forty times the normal amount of prize money for a Class S battle."

Bit whistled appreciatively, "That's a small fortune."

The doctor wasn't finished "There was also a message with the money."

"What was it?" asked Jamie.

Dr. Toros's voice took on an ominous tone. "To the victor go the spoils, congratulations."

"Sounds like the Backdraft Group gave us some prize money," said Leena who was finally up an about, albeit dazed and with an ice pack strapped to her head.

"Sure does," said Bit.

"Another thing," Toros added, "With Leena on recovery, we have been granted temporary leave, however I canceled the leave after Leena woke up."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Bit, somewhat concerned, "Leena isn't in any condition to fight right now." Leena glared at him, but was to dazed and tired to do anything.

"That won't be a problem," said Toros, "Jamie will be her substitute for now. This is important considering our next opponent is the Sun Team."

"The Sun Team!" Jamie exclaimed, "I've been waiting to fight those guys."

"Well now you have your chance," said Dr. Toros.

Two days later, the Blitz Team was in route to the battlefield. The hover cargo was a full live aboard craft, with a kitchen, lounge, and even a home theater. Bit was in the lounge when Leena came and sat across from him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"I'm just wondering whether it would be better to use the Jager or the Panzer for this battle," replied Bit.

"Well, the Jager has the speed to keep up with airborne types," Leena said.

"Yeah, but maybe it's better to use the Panzer. The Panzer's Burning Bigbang attack is good for taking out airborne foes. I'm just not sure."

Leena locked her gaze with his, "Just do what you feel you have to. Use whatever you think works best."

"Are you sure you're alright Leena? You hardly sound like yourself." Leena chuckled at this remark and left, leaving Bit feeling very puzzled. "Maybe that bump to the head was an improvement," he muttered. In reality he was concerned. Leena just wasn't herself lately. He dismissed it and concentrated on the problem at hand.

"When the Blitz Team arrived at the battlefield they found, to Bit's relief, the Sun Team waiting for them. The Sun Team consisted of a Redler, a Pteras, a Storm Sworder, with a Raynos rounding off the team.

The judge capsule landed and the battle began normally. "The area within a thirty-mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield, only competitors and personnel have authorization. Danger! All others must leave at once. Area Scanned, battlefield set up. The Blitz Team versus the Sun Team. Battle mode 0993. Ready…Fight!"

Bit had settled on the Jager for the battle. The Jager charged forward with the Shadowfox close behind. The Jamie in his Raynos surged forward. The Sun Team leader in her own Raynos throttled up to meet him.

The Pteras tried to come in low, firing its rockets at the Shadowfox and Liger 0. With a deft flick of the controls Bit activated the Jager Ion Boosters. He charged head on at the missiles, but at the last moment swerved left hard.

A few of the missiles continued on their course, their guidance systems overloaded by the targeting data which had changed to rapidly for them to compute. The majority swerved in pursuit of the Liger. The Liger turned hard again, this time to the right. A few more missiles lost their lock and crashed or detonated prematurely. Bit suddenly cut the Jager's jets and dropped low. The remaining missiles shot by overhead, and crashed.

Brad countered the Pteras's attacks with the vulcan laser gun. The pilot in the Pteras deftly avoided the ground fire. In a few seconds it flew up high, beyond the range of Brad's guns and tried to perform some high altitude bombing.

Jamie had his hands full with the opposing team's Raynos. Their two zoids swerved, dived, juked, sideslipped, barrel rolled, and climbed in attempts to find the other zoid in its sights. So far neither had gained a definite advantage.

Bit had managed to shake the Pteras's shots, but found that the Storm Sworder and the Redler were quickly closing with him. The Liger ran alongside a cliff to limit the airborne zoids' firing options. The Redler came in first. The pilot cruised as close to the cliff as he dared. Bit saw an opportunity. The Liger used its momentum to run up and along the cliff as if it were level ground. The Redler soared by, now underneath the Liger.

The pilot tried to correct his error, but it was too late. The Jager's Strike Laser Claw hit home, taking off a wing. The Redler crashed into the ground. The Storm Sworder pilot was more cautious. The first thing he did was fire a pair of missiles at the Liger.

Bit waited as the missiles closed with him. At the last possible moment, the Jager sideslipped left, so fast that it left an image in its former location. The missiles lost their target lock with the sudden change in the Jager's position. One crashed into the ground, the other detonated in midair, neither doing any damage to the Liger.

In the air, Jamie and his opponent continued their airborne duel. The other Raynos suddenly found a spot on Jamie's tail. No matter what maneuvers he performed, Jamie couldn't shake his opponent.

A shot grazed his wing. The Raynos went into a nosedive. It appeared for a moment that his opponent had won. But, as always in moments of crisis, Jamie's subconscious suddenly shifted. With a loud whoop, the Raynos and its pilot returned to the battle. The opposing Raynos was again on his tail but the Wild Eagle (as he called himself now) was not concerned. He performed dodges and twists that caused the fire to go wide.

The Wild Eagle pulled his Raynos into a steep climb. His opponent followed him. In the cockpit the Sun Team leader struggled to get a lock at the suddenly elusive target. Both Raynoses climbed into a layer of clouds. Through the clouds, she barely managed to see Jamie's Raynos turn its climb into a loop as the Wild Eagle sought to get behind her. She was no novice however, and followed him into his loop.

The Wild Eagle got an idea. He leveled off. Then he snapped the Raynos into a hard left turn. His opponent followed. Then he snapped the Raynos into a hard right turn, then left, then right. His opponent managed to stay with him for a while, but the G-forces finally began to take their toll on the pilot. As the Raynos snapped into yet another turn, she could no longer stand it. She banked the opposite direction.

The Wild Eagle, who had near endless tolerance for high G-forces, saw that his plan had worked. Cutting the engines and applying the air brakes, the Wild Eagle hauled back on the Raynos's control stick, then hitting the throttle and the booster jets simultaneously. The result was that the Raynos almost instantly reversed direction. The other pilot never even saw him coming. The Raynos's fire hit the engines and she went down in one pass.

The Liger 0's duel with the Storm Sworder wasn't going as well. The Storm Sworder was faster than even the Jager's Ion Boosters. Several times the Liger had been thrown about by the powerful sonic booms caused by the Storm Sworder's passing. Bit knew he had to do something and fast.

Brad was having an easier time. The Shadowfox ran along the edge of a gorge. The Pteras had finally used up all of its bombs and was forced to attempt strafing attacks. Brad waited for the Pteras to come in behind him for another strafing run. At the last possible minute, the Shadowfox leapt of the edge and into the gorge.

The Pteras passed by above and turned to come for another pass. However, in order to make a successful strafing run, it had to fly through the gorge. Brad was waiting for him. The Pteras pilot knew he had no where to dodge. It didn't help when he flew through a thick cloud of the Shadowfox's smoke. Brad's fire took it down quickly.

Bit got an idea to deal with the Storm Sworder. He waited until the Storm Sworder passed overhead again. He charged after the zoid. The sonic boom still caught up with him. The Liger jumped into the air and actually rode the sonic boom. Still caught in the sonic boom, Bit activated the Jager's Ion Boosters. The sudden acceleration caused the Liger to shoot forward even faster, past the confused Storm Sworder pilot and dealing the Storm Sworder a crippling blow to the engines.

The Storm Sworder crashed. "The battle is over. The battle is over. The winner is…the Blitz Team," the judge pronounced.

Back at the Toros Base, Bit, Brad, Jamie, Leena, and Dr. Toros were in the lounge having dinner when an announcement came on the video screen. Jamie went up to look at it and gasped in amazement.

"What is it?" asked Bit.

Jamie replied, "It's our next scheduled battle."

"What? We just got off the battlefield and they're announcing the next battle already!" Exclaimed Bit.

"Actually it's scheduled for a week from today," came Jamie's reply.

"Oh, no big deal then."

Brad had to ask, "Who's the unlucky opponent."

Jamie gulped and paled slightly, "We're up against Derrik Fay." Only stunned silence followed this pronouncement.