Disclaimer: I don't own zoids and I never will. All the characters that do not appear in the anime are mine. Also if you recognize anything from my story that is out of a movie, book etc, they belong to their rightful owners.

Luineraugwen:" For all those people, who don't know what 'Genkaku' means, I think it is Japanese for 'false impression'. (At least that's what my dictionary said)"

* Imperial Base *

Karl and Sorcha had finished their interrogation for the day. It was early evening and the sun had begun to set behind the sand dunes. The Col. decided to leave Jerram and Rae in the cells overnight. He promised to contact his superior the first thing the next morning to receive orders about what to do as well as discuss the delicate matter with him.

The two walked side by side down one of the halls, both were exhausted from the day's events. Sorcha wanted to sleep but she knew she couldn't because she wanted to see Sphinx in the hospital ward before the end of the night.

"Where do you usually sleep for the night?" Karl asked breaking the silence.

"I usually stay with Foxfire" Sorcha replied rubbing her eyes.

"Well we can't have that. I'll have to find you somewhere on the campus to stay while your here. I'll also get you a visitors pass," Karl said as he watched her.

"I don't want to be a burden, Col. Shubaltz" she answered.

"Its all right. You won't be a burden on anyone". They continued to keep walking in silence until they reached the cafeteria.

* Cafeteria *

After getting their meals and sitting down, Sorcha and Karl hadn't done much except eat or listen to the soldiers around them. Sorcha was mainly listening to a group of soldiers that looked about the same age as Sphinx. They were quietly telling each other a number of dirty jokes and Sorcha was surprising herself by answering practically all of them in her head. Karl turned his head around to look as the group.

"Are they new recruits?" Sorcha asked the Col. as she followed his gaze.

"Must be. We're taught not to say such things in the army but we still do" a voice behind her replied. Sorcha looked over her shoulder and saw Thomas, Van, Fiona, Irvine and Moonbay, who then came and sat down next to the two.

"So, how did the interrogation go, Col.?" Moonbay asked curiously when she sat down. Sorcha noticed the annoyed expression on Thomas's face as Van had pulled out a chair for Fiona and that the younger Shubaltz couldn't take his eyes off her.

"It was all right I guess. We questioned four of the five so-called assassins. After we interrogated three people, two of them, including Michael committed suicide. We've managed to get two confessions, that were practically the same, but one was sent to the infirmary due to a serious injury. All we have to do now is question the wounded man before we make a conclusion" Karl replied gloomily.

"Did you know any more of the captives, Sorcha?" Van asked as he gave Thomas a nasty death glare because of the look on his face as the twenty- four-year-old admired Fiona. Thomas decided to return the gesture and the two sat there for the next few minutes like that.

"Yep, everyone of them. Fortunately I had the pleasure of growing up with all of them. Three of them are good friends of mine and I wish the other two were personal punching bags. I'd put a few holes in those ungrateful..." Sorcha thought for a moment for a suitable word to use but she couldn't find one." Sorry. I can't finish that sentence without using something unsuitable" Sorcha replied although she didn't know whether Van was listening.

"Now we know how you feel about those guys and I guess that we shouldn't get on your bad side " Fiona said smiling. The two boys that were sitting either side of her gave up on the staring contest and crossed their arms, ignoring each other. Fiona gave a weak smile to the Col. and Sorcha. "Their always like this" she whispered.

"That's a good idea. You should have seen the way she handled Michael back in the alley" Thomas said happily as though what Sorcha did was something to be proud of.

"So I can fight. It's not a big deal besides; I had a personal problem with that guy. He has always a pain in the ass" Sorcha said shrugging off the praise.

Thomas was looking at his elder brother then to Sorcha and he decided that he would play matchmaker for these two. 'Besides, my brother hasn't had a girlfriend since the Stone Age and Sorcha seems like a good match for him'. The younger Shubaltz grinned and mentally rubbed his hands together.

"Col., your good at martial arts. Why don't you two have a sparring match and you can test her" Thomas suggested. He realized he was acting too formal. Even though they were brothers, Karl was still a higher-ranking officer than he was. One look at the Col.'s face and he knew the answer. "Sorry sir. I guess that was one of those open mouth, insert foot things that I can't help saying". Karl nodded but Sorcha cracked up laughing along with the others.

The Col. side looked at the woman sitting next to him then glared back at Thomas. He wore an expressionless look on his face before he answered. "I don't fight women besides I don't think it would be fair on Sorcha if we did".

Sorcha gave a small laugh and shook her head. "Are you always such a gentleman Col. or are you just afraid that I'll fight back? I've fought men twice your size and won I might add" she replied as she brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her playful face.

Karl turned his whole body around to face Sorcha. He fixed his bright green eyes, which sparkled with a mixture of excitement and a hint of challenge, on her. "Well, I've never been one to turn down a challenge and yes, I'm practically always a gentleman except when I'm on the battlefield" Karl said he stood up and offered his hand to help her up.

"That's good to know as their aren't many gentlemen around these days" Sorcha replied and accepted his offer.

As the two walked off, Irvine whispered in Thomas's ear. "I hope this plan of yours is going to work or we'll end up with a woman who hates you or a Col. short". Thomas nodded and mouthed the words ' It'll work out' as the group followed the Col. and Sorcha.

* Gym *

"Impressive" Sorcha remarked as she slowly looked around at the training facilities in the room. A huge blue padded mat lay in the middle and an assortment of other equipment surrounded it.

"It sure is. All the soldiers are taught basic martial arts and fighting techniques. They are also encouraged to workout in their own time" Karl explained as he started to take his boots and hat off.

Sorcha was about to ask if he worked out in his spare time but as she turned around and watched him take off his jacket, her question was answered. His plain grey undershirt looked as though it was hugging his every muscle. 'Lord, he does workout and quite a bit by the looks of it. Tat or his shirt is too small ' she though as she stared at him.

Karl looked up and saw her. He smiled as she walked over to Van and his group, who were standing at the side of the mat, and started to take her shoes off as well. He walked out and began to warm up. The Col. heard Irvine whistle and he couldn't help but look up. Sorcha had taken her jacket off, exposing a tight black top as well as a pair of strong arms. A tattoo of a full moon and the outline of a howling wolf against it was painted onto her upper arm. 'Shit. She's hotter than the sun'.

"Hey Col., just because I'm a girl don't go easy on me" Sorcha said as she walked onto the mat and stood opposite him.

"I won't as long as you don't knee or kick me in the groin" and she mouthed the word 'promise'. They bowed. Karl lunged at her, aiming a punch at her face but Sorcha blocked it. She then aimed a kick at Karl and he blocked. This display of punches kicks and blocks when on for a few minutes. Sorcha aimed another kick at Karl but this time he sidestepped to the right and with one hand, forced her arms behind her back while his other hand caught her underneath the knee and pulled the woman against his body.

"I guess your not a gentleman when you fight either" Sorcha said and the Col. nodded. He applied more pressure to her back causing her to lean on him more as he emphasized his answer.

"That's not my only reason," he whispered in her ear. "I'm a man and you're a very attractive woman. I was bound to lose some self control in this fight" he whispered in her ear.

"Well you better not lose any more or I won't keep my promise" Sorcha replied as she escaped from is hold, twisted his arm behind his back, kicked him behind the knees then pinned him to the floor with her knee.

There was a small amount of clapping and everyone looked towards the door and saw the emperor standing there. The two on the ground hastily stood up as the young man walked over.

"That was a very good fight. You better make sure that Sorcha doesn't use those moves on you again Col." the emperor said as Karl saluted.

"As long as I keep my hands to myself, she won't" Karl replied. He excused himself so he could go and get his jacket and hat. At that very moment, the whole base shook and seconds later an alarm sounded. The group, including the emperor, ran to the control room.

* Control Room *

"What's going on?" Col. Shubaltz demanded one of the soldiers. Sorcha could see that thick metal walls surrounded the base but a hole was slowly being shot through the wall from the outside. She automatically knew it was a group from her home because there we no weapons outside this base, except for those used by Rando's assassins and other bases, and it wouldn't make sense it another Imperial base attacked another.

" We're under attack, sir, but we can't see the enemy. They must be using stealth or invisibility technology, but we've checked everything including heat signatures and we can't find anything" the soldier explained.

"Trying to track heat signals won't help, their using technology developed to be untraceable unless you know how to look for them" Sorcha said walking forward and taking over one of the computers. She brought up a number of different colored screens that covered the map of the base and its boundaries.

"What are you doing?" Karl asked as he came and leant over her shoulder to see what she was doing. The others that came with him did the same.

"The invisibility technology that the scientists in my colony designed hides all signals except for those that can be seen with white light. I'm making a temporary screen that covers the map of the base and it's boundaries in white light" Sorcha explained and as the screen when white and small outlines of zoids appeared on the computer, Sorcha stood up and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going now?" Karl yelled after her.

"To fight. Your men alone can't win against these pilots!" she yelled back to him. Karl then noticed the Imperial zoids that were now exiting the hangers and out into the open war zone. Van, Fiona, Thomas, Irvine and Karl then followed her out of the room and headed towards their own zoids.

* Outside the Base *

"Goddamn it" Karl cursed as the Iron Kong took a direct hit in the legs and went down. The Col. was now out of the battle. All the zoids used by the base, except for those in the Guardian Force, were lying half-destroyed or immobile and useless on the ground. Sorcha was right, these guys were tough to beat even though she had down loaded the data that told them where they were to every soldier on the battlefield, and they were still loosing. Even the Blade Liger, Di Bison and Lightning Siax were damaged but Foxfire had dodged every bullet and put many enemy zoids out of commission.

"C'mon Col. jump in! You're a sitting duck out there!" Sorcha yelled as she came to a stop next to the Iron Kong. Karl quickly jumped into the second seat in the cockpit of her zoid and belted up.

"How many are left?" He asked as Sorcha continuously dodged and fired. He admired the way she piloted Foxfire and how easily her hands guided the huge zoid while in combat.

"Too many Col.. We haven't even taken out half their forces yet!" Sorcha swore badly as a white-hot cannon whizzed past her. Foxfire threw its head back howled. Karl watched as a silver-ish blue ball like beam appeared and grew larger in the wolf's mouth. He felt a sudden rush of coldness as she fired. The beam could only be compared to the Deathsaurer's Charged Particle Cannon or the Di Bison's Megalomax in power. Foxfire even recoiled from the blast. She took out about five of the enemy zoids before she then started to fire with the cannons on her zoids forelegs.

It wasn't long before even the Guardian Force was defeated and all attention was turned to Sorcha. A mirage of bullets and other weapons were fired at them; some hit home while others missed them by inches. Foxfire soon collapsed under the strain.

"Please Foxfire, don't back out on me yet" Sorcha whispered softly so only Karl heard her.

They could tell by the tremor of the ground that a big zoid stood in front of them. Suddenly Foxfire moved violently as the cockpit was continually stamped and shot at by the zoid in front of them. It came apparent to Karl, who had instinctively curled up in his seat, that they weren't after the emperor this time, it was Sorcha. Sorcha had joined his side and now they wanted her dead because she knew so much about them.

He looked up to see that Sorcha wasn't protecting herself. Small but deep cuts littered her exposed flesh and a trickle of blood slid down the side of her face from where she had hit her head on the perspex shield. She stared out of the light blue shield at the invisible attacker. She sat there, wounded yet defiant until the end like the many of the warriors Karl remembered his mother told him about when he was young.

Suddenly, bullets exploded on the zoid before them and they saw that was a heavily modified black Iron Kong. Several dark blue Terraces flew above them, dropping bombs on other hidden zoids. Then about fifty dark blue land zoids appeared from out of nowhere. Karl guessed they had been invisible as well. Sorcha opened the cockpit and stood up. Karl did the same and he realised just how injured she was. Blood seeped down her arms and blood had stained the front seat. He also noticed as she looked at the new arrivals that her eyes seemed distant and unfocused.

"Who are they?' Karl asked as he looked at them. All sported the similar dark blue that Foxfire had used to hide against the night sky.

"Friends" Sorcha whispered faintly before she too collapsed from exhaustion and lack of sleep as well as blood. Karl grabbed her before she fell out of the cockpit then picked her up in his arms before jumping down to the ground. He marveled at Foxfire, who had begun to heal herself, for a few seconds before he heard the heavy footsteps of two men approaching him from behind.

He turned around to see two men, both in their early twenties, standing before him. One had dark skin and a powerfully built body while the other was shorter and of a smaller build. Both were clothed in black. Their zoids both had the moon and howling wolf mark that was painted on Foxfire's forehead and Sorcha's upper arm.

"Are you and Sorcha okay, sir?" the smaller asked sympathetically. They all looked towards the base as medical workers and normal soldiers ran out to help their injured comrades. The men and a few women that jumped out of the dark blue zoids ran over to give the Imperial army soldiers a hand.

"Yeah, we're okay. Who are you?" Karl asked as he looked at the men before him.

"How rude of us," the big one said. "I'm Brian and this is Tobias. Us as well as all the other people that just landed, are students trained Sorcha. We caught wind of what Rando was planing to do so we left just after his group did so we could try and wipe them out".

"Thanks for your help" Karl replied. He was a bit shaken from the fight and the near death experience they had survived. He turned around and started to walk back to the base. Foxfire, who had recovered from the injuries, got up and walked beside him all the way.

* Infirmary *

Sorcha stirred from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes to see Jerram, Rae, Brian, Tobias and Sphinx standing beside her bed. The cuts on her arms stung slightly and her head throbbed.

"You okay big sis?' Rae asked nervously. Sorcha nodded and tried to sit up but her sister pushed her back down. "I wouldn't do that. It would save you a lot of embarrassment," Rae said as she lifted the sheet. Sorcha realised that she was hardly wearing anything.

"Now that is a stupid question, isn't it" Sorcha replied. "Nurse, could I please have my clothes. It very uncomfortable to be surrounded by men while you're half naked!" Jerram and Tobias laughed.

"She thinks your a man" Jerram snickered as he talked to Rae.

"I think you're an idiot!" Rae replied bitterly.

"I know you're not a man," Tobias added.

"I think you're an idiot too," Rae said in the same tone.

"Now, now children. No name calling allowed," Sorcha said in a mother like voice.

The nurse came over to the bed and gave Sorcha her clothes then ushered the others away and closed the curtains. She quickly got dressed and walked out. She noticed that Jerram was missing.

"Where is the Col. and the Guardian Force?" she asked. The nurse had walked away for a few seconds and she had come back with a needle filled with some kind of liquid.

"Excuse me miss, but we have to give a needle before you leave the infirmary" she said as she squirted a small amount of it in the air.

"Hell your not. I've survived worse battles than that had serious injuries and I didn't even need a needle. Besides, I have a really bad phobia to needles" Sorcha replied, her arms raised in surrender.

The door behind her opened and someone walked into her. She turned around to see the Col. standing there. "Sorry sir" she apologized.

"What's going on in here?" Van asked as he walked though the door and looked around.

"My patient must get a needle before leaving but so far she's refused" the nurse explains as she walked a bit closer.

"And my answer isn't going to change any time soon, lady. Getting a tattoo is one thing and I'm okay with that, but if there is one think I hate, it's getting a surgical needle!" Sorcha said as she burst from the room.

The nurse laughed and it sounded a bit familiar. She grabbed the edge of her face and pulled off a mask. Beneath the mask was Jerram. "This was the first time I've worn a dress and I can honestly say that I don't hate it". He smiled as very one either gave him a weird look or fell over anime style.

Sorcha's head appeared in the doorway. "I knew it! Jerram, don't try and pass for a woman because you're too flat chested to do it". Then she took off again. Karl walked out of the room and slowly followed her down the hall.

Luineraugwen:" Okay that's the end of this chapter. I tried to add a bit of humor to it but I stuck at writing that stuff"

C'ya