The Princess of the Zoids: Could it Be Me

Chapter 2: Planning

Arasu stood silent and still as she waited for her presence to be noticed. The man she was there for had his back to her, and was slurping up instant ramen. When he had finished his noodles and still not acknowledged her, Arasu lost her patience. "Dr. Raon, sir? You wished to see me?"

Dr. Raon turned to face her. "Yes, I did." He gestured to a chair near his desk, which was covered in papers and datapads. "Please, be seated." Arasu sat down quietly in the chair. "Now, I've been looking through some of your strategies and programs, and they look very nice." He shuffled through the papers and came up with a datapad. "But I'm slightly confused about this one." He handed the datapad to Arasu.

Arasu scanned through the datapad's display quickly, reminding herself of what she had written. "This is meant to be used in conjunction with the 'Remote Pilot' program I turned in a month ago." She gestured toward the desk, and Dr. Raon nodded. Arasu shuffled through the papers and datapads, until she found the one she was looking for. She cued up the appropriate section of the datapad, and handed it back to him. "With the 'Remote Pilot' program, if anything happens to our warrior or the computer, we can take control from the base. The 'Hijack' program, on the other hand, may make it possible to send an electronic surge through our opponents' Zoids, temporary freezing their computer. Now, it is my theory that if we use the two in conjunction with each other, it may be possible to temporarily take control of our opponents' Zoid. By using an electrical charge to confuse the Zoid's computer, we can use a radio transmitter to send the programs, and then to control the Zoid. I'm not sure how long we would be able to maintain the control, but the surge should last long enough to at least throw the warrior off, so that it'll be easier for us to take them down. Unfortunately, I don't think that we'd be able to control the Zoid from the base. We'd need to control the Zoid from the field."

Dr. Raon sat silently reading the datapad, nodding occasionally. "This looks very promising. How long until it can be installed in one of our Zoids and tested?"

"I'd have to check our current Zoids to see if we have any with weapons that could create the appropriate electrical charge, but it should be ready to test in about a week."

"Good, good... Would a Reinosu Zoid be sufficient for you to test it with?"

"Me?" Arasu asked, surprised. Regaining her composure, Arasu continued, "I'm sure a Reinosu would be sufficient, but why would you want me to test it? I'm much more used to coordinating the attack from within the Whaleking."

"I have seen your test flights on aerial Zoids, and, given the speed that can be achieved by a Reinosu, there shouldn't be much of a problem with keeping you out of the way of attacks. Besides, it is your program, so I'd like to see you be the one to test it, so you can judge when the right time to use it is."

Arasu nodded. "When will the Reinosu be ready?"

"It's in the hangar right now, if you'd like to get started." Dr. Raon stood up and walked out of the office, and Arasu followed him to the hangar bay. "I'm giving you this Zoid, Ara, as a gift. I'd like to see you in more battles."

"Sir, I cannot accept this Zoid."

"Why not? Haven't I treated you like a daughter for these past years?"

"Yes, sir, and that's the problem. Some of the other men, they're resentful of the attention you are given me."

Raon was silent for a moment. "Do you currently have a Zoid?" Arasu shook her head. "Then I am giving this to you, because I have faith in your abilities as a pilot and want you to battle more. Is that acceptable?" Arasu paused, then nodded.

They reached the hangar, and Arasu stood in awe of the Reinosu standing there. She climbed up into cockpit, and felt a twinge of guilt, but it passed quickly. She scanned the controls and the systems, unconsciously making changes in her head that she'd need to get taken care of. "I can definitely get this finished in a week," she told Raon.

"Good. I'll set up a battle for then, so we can test it out."