DR: Now for more tiwsts and turns...
Chapter 11: Introductions & Shocks
As the Gustav approached the Blitz team base, the driver looked over at her young companion.
"You sure they won't mind?" She asked.
"Don't you mean, am I sure that I want to do this?" the raven-haired youth shot back. He smiled. "Mom, I know what I'm doing."
She sighed. "I know, but I can't help worrying about you… you're the best thing that ever happened to me."
He placed a hand on her arm. "I know mom. And I appreciate you're worried about me. My father never did…" He stopped. He knew that his father was a sore subject with his mother. On the one hand he had taken advantage of, used and discarded her, without any thought to her feelings or the aftermath of his actions.
But he had given her a son, a son any mother could be proud of. He was everything his father wasn't. Kind, compassionate, holding no grudges or having any hidden agendas. He wore his heart on his sleeve, as the old saying went. What you saw was the truth.
As she brought the Gustav to a halt just outside the massive hanger doors, she looked again at the young man standing outside. He was clearly not Bit or Brad, and was too young for the old Doc… wait. Bit had mentioned that a 'Leon' had joined the team. She searched her perfect memory for that name. Ah yes, Leena Toros had an older brother, Leon Toros. She looked again. Ruggedly handsome, he clearly had his father's hair, though it was swept into an odd style. It was brushed up to from a flat top, like a mushroom, that extended beyond his head.
Vega quickly unsnapped his restraints before vaulting out of the cockpit onto the ground. He could do that since the Gustav's head was so low to the ground. Sarah had heard that the Gustav looked like some small, pathetic creature back on Earth. A snail or something like that she thought.
Leon watched as a young boy, slightly younger than Jamie, hopped out. His hair was a dark smoky grey, like the feathers of a raven. 'So this is Vega Obscura.' He thought. Despite his reputation, Vega did not appear to be a ruthless warrior feared by many. In fact he reminded Leon of Bit. His face was an open book, displaying everything about him. Leon had always been a good judge of character, and what he saw in Vega surprised him. He knew then that Bit had been right about him. This kid loved battling, but was not malicious or cruel. Had the ZBC rather than the Backdraft raised him, he would have been one of the most adored pilots around.
He shifted his attention to the tall women who was stepping out of the Gustav. The most defining feature about her was her hair, a rich, dark blue that shone a little in the lights of the hanger. It framed a thin but attractive face, and she walked with a grace that Leon had rarely seen. Her face was schooled to show little emotion, and appeared to be permanently set in a look of superiority. But Leon could see that this cool, confident exterior was a front, a cover for a vulnerable soul, one that had suffered and was desperate not to get hurt again.
"Sarah Obscura, Vega Obscura, this is a surprise. Welcome to the Blitz team base."
"Thank you." Sarah answered for both of them. Now they were face to face, Leon was amazed at her softly spoken voice. It was a gentle waft, and seemed to flow almost liquid like from her across the air. "We weren't sure what kind of reception to expect, what with our… past troubles."
Leon grinned. Sarah found herself struggling to maintain her cool expression. "Well, if Leena was out here, she might be a little less polite." He shook his head. "I do love my sister, but she's temperamental, quick to anger and tends to hold onto her opinions about people." He shrugged. "I'm afraid the she doesn't think very highly of the Backdraft."
"Understandable." Now that they were standing by the doors, Vega and Sarah both could hear the sound of clanging metal.
"What's happening? We come at bad time?" Vega asked, forthright as always.
"Vega…" Sarah started.
"No, it's all right." Leon stopped her before she could admonish her son. Surprisingly Sarah found herself not minding Leon interrupting her at all. "Why don't you come in, and I'll explain."
The Obscuras followed Leon though the door into the hanger itself. Sarah couldn't help but chuckle to herself. 'If only Altiel could see me now…'
She looked round the hanger of the famous Blitz team. It was somehow disappointing. A standard six-zoid unit, sold throughout the world. And from the minor discolorations and other signs, not really cared for either. She'd almost expected the Blitz team to have some glorious structure that had each zoid on its own pedestal. After all, each one was famous in its own way.
The zoids gathered in here more than made up for the hanger's condition though. First of all was the Liger Zero. It stood, proud and defiant, the white armour gleaming in the overhead lights. It was currently surrounded on two sides by the fold out gantries, and a wide range of zoid parts and weapons were scattered around its feet. Clearly the Blitz team were doing some work to it.
On the other side of the bay stood Leena's Gunsniper. Sarah knew it was Leena's because there was only one Gunsniper on Zi that carried that amount of weaponry. She had read the stats and post battle transcripts, even watched a few battle recordings, but seeing it with her own eyes was much more powerful. Leena had added a wild weasel structure behind the high trajectory missile pods that all nearly all Gunsnipers had. Each side of the cross member carried a pair of lasers, two huge eight shot heavy missile packs, and a massive Vulcan cannon. The barrels of the last items were almost as large as the zoids hind legs. A triple fire long-range missile pack was added onto the outside of the Vulcans. Sarah shook her head. 'Walking Armoury' didn't cover that amount of weaponry.
In the next bay along from the Gunsniper stood the Shadow Fox, one of Dr Layon's greatest inventions. It was similar in size to the Command Wolf, but had a much sleeker appearance. The narrow nose swept back out over the cheeks, while the large ears gave it an alert look. It was had to tell exactly which part was which as the matt black colouring soaked in light. The gold edging and parts made a stark contrast to the black, while the Laser Vulcan gleamed with deadly intent.
Beyond the fox the teams Raynos could just be seen. Its green nose high in the air, both wings swept back to allow it to fit in the bay. Even here, standing on the ground, it screamed speed and agility. No wonder they were so expensive and difficult to get a hold of, even in the Helic Republic where they were most common.
Across from the Fox stood another Gunsniper, but painted a deep crimson rather that the standard two-tone blue. With her keen eyes Sarah could see subtle differences between this Gunsniper and a standard model. This one was clearly tweaked to improve its ability to get to a sniping position. Clearly Naomi Fluegels, the master sniper, zoid.
The last bay was filled with a usual Blade Liger. While the majority were blue or white, this one was dark crimson, and seemed to almost glow with inner heat. Sarah shuddered, a tingling sensation running down her snipe. It was similar to the tingle that had run though her when she had first set eyes on the Fury, but also different. The Fury had felt almost as if it was part of her family… the Liger sparked a sense of dread.
She shifted her focus to the area around the Liger Zeros feet. She noticed that many of the parts gathered around were caked in dirt and sand. She had heard Bit had been a junk dealer before joining the team. Clearly he had kept on scavenging as a sideline.
"Hey Leon!" A girlish voice called out from beyond the Liger. "Who was coming then?"
"The Obscuras." Leon called simply.
Sarah watched as all activity stopped, then three young people stepped around the Ligers paws. Bit Cloud was the first to hurdle the pile of scrap, before shaking her sons hand warmly.
"Vega! Great to see you!"
"Likewise." Vega smiled up at the blond-hair young man before him.
The other two people were standing a short distance away. The taller red-haired female must have been Leena: Sarah could see the similarity between her and Leon. Her face showed a mixture of apprehension and relief. Sarah wondered why the relief was there.
The much younger lad came over at Bits wave. "This is Jamie Hemeros. Our aerial pilot and tactician…" Bit began.
"Not that you guys ever listen to my tactics." Jamie cut in, addressing Bit. Vega laughed at the look on Bit's face.
"So Vega…" Jamie asked, turning back to him. "…Mind if I ask why you and Sarah are here?" The question was valid, but Jamie asked it pleasantly. Sarah hadn't heard that question asked that nicely for a long time.
"Well, Sa… Mom," Vega corrected himself, looking up at her. "…Said that I couldn't make an informed decision until I'm knew who I'd be working with. What your like off the battlefield that is." He shrugged. "I countered by saying 'Well, lets go round and talk to them now. A surprise visit would mean that I'd get a much clearer view of what happens round here.' Course…" His face dropped. "…If I'd known you would be working on your zoid…"
"Hey, don't sweat it." Bit stooped down to lift Vega's chin. "We weren't planning on doing anything to the Liger today either, but things kind of got complicated…"
"How so?" Sarah asked. This should be good.
Leena sighed. "Harry Champ called earlier…" she hesitated.
Sarah thought back. "Champ. That name rings a bell. Wait, he was the one you were fighting where those three Genosaurers attacked Vega. Son of Bernard Champ, chairman and owner of Champ industries?"
Leena nodded. "That's him."
"He's got a huge crush on Leena." Leon stated.
"And he's gone wacko." Bit added.
Sarah was confused. "So how does he mean you alter the Liger?" Vega asked in a puzzled voice.
"He tried to kidnap Leena… Thinks I've got some spell on her, and that once he gets her away from me, she'll fall in love with him." Bit shook his head sadly.
"So Bit does the heroic thing, stops him carrying her away…" Leena blushed. "…So Harry throws down his challenge. A one-on-one zoid battle tomorrow." Leon gestured to the Liger. "We've found out Harry's really tooled-up his zoid, and as part of the challenge was that Bit has to use the default armour." Now Leon grinned. "But he didn't say anything about altering the armour at all!"
Vega nodded, a grin creasing his face. "Cool!"
"Just one thing." Sarah asked, hating to spoil the mood. "But why did you accept the challenge? What's at stake?"
Leon's grin faded. "He threatened to turn the banks against us. They would have called in our debts, which we can't afford to pay off right now…"
"You're serious?" Sarah was astonished. "You still have steep debts?" Jamie could only nod.
"But when I win, we'll be able to pay nearly them all off. Harry's placed half a million on this fight!" Sarah gulped, while Leena rounded on Bit.
"You haven't won it yet! And you're not going to just standing there!" Bit could only cringe. "Besides, we don't have half a million credits, so remember what he said we'd have to give him instead?" Bit nodded, clearly terrified.
"She like this all the time?" Vega whispered to Jamie, the only he could.
"Mostly. But wait till you see her after Bits forgotten the bathroom schedule again and walked in on her, or nicked one of her sweet toothed treats. She's worse than the Fury at that point." Vega shuddered.
"What did she mean, about giving Harry Champ 'other things'?" Sarah asked Leon.
"Harry wants Leena so she's one thing. The other is the Liger Zero. So he can give it to his sister for her birthday." The Liger roared loudly at that.
Vega was startled. "Hey, I understood him!" The other pilots stared.
"What? I thought I was the only one who could understand the Liger!" Bit cried, his fright at Leena's hands forgotten.
"Yea! He said 'There's no way in hell I'm going to be a garden statue!' Is that what Harry's sister wants the Liger for?" Vega looked disgusted.
"Yea… strange girl that she is." Leena answered.
"But, why can you understand the Liger too?" Bit asked, smiling. "Not that I mind at all!"
Sarah thought hard. "Maybe it's because Vega also pilots an Ultimate X zoid. It'll be interesting to see if you could understand the Fury Bit." Bit's eyes lit up.
"Mom, did you understand the Liger?" Vega asked his eyes wide. Leon looked at her in astonishment.
"You... you can hear what the Liger said?"
Sarah sighed. "No. When Vega talked to the Fury, I got the gist of its replies. It didn't come across as words, but I got the general meaning and tone." She waved a hand at the Liger. "When the Liger roared, I didn't get that much, but I did get the core emotions: Fear and defiance."
At that point, Brad walked in. "Say have you finished your clear out, since that list hasn't been…" he trailed off as he saw Vega and Sarah standing amongst his teammates.
"Oh, sorry Brad." Bit called back. "Let me check." He dashed back into the store. After a minute, he came out, dragging another small cannon. "This is the last one."
"Fine, I'll go tell Na…" again Brad's voice trailed off, as he saw the short message that had come up on the remote terminal.
"What is it Brad…" Bit asked, before looked at the message himself. "It says 'Brad, help!'" Bit looked up, worried. Brad had already begun running. Sarah and Vega looked round at the suddenly anxious faces.
"What's the matter?" She asked, but already had a gut feeling.
"Naomi's been ill for the last couple of weeks." Leon answered his voice sad. "In fact, she's been acting odd for the last month, ever since that evening before the season started…"
"Maybe I can help." Sarah offered. "I took a course of medicine while Vega was little."
Leon looked at the others, and then nodded. "Go. I doubt it will be hard to find them..."
Sarah took off after Brad. Leon was too worried about Naomi to notice that he was sorry to see Sarah go…
X-X-X-X-X-X
As she ran though the short corridor between the hanger and the main base, Sarah dragged out of her memory everything she had ever learned about medicine and care. She knew the basics, but anything really bad, and from the sound of things this was, and she would out of her depth. All she could do in such cases would be to provide support until they could get Naomi to a hospital.
Sarah was surprised at her willingness to help, but maybe, just maybe, if the judges heard about how she was willing to help one who used to be a rival, they would lift the conditions on her. Even just removing that bloody ankle bracelet would be a god send…
She quickly made her way across the central lounge, barely noticing the scuffed seats; the rubbish gathered in the corners and the general air of neglect. Following her instincts, she found herself moving down a slightly curved corridor. She guessed she was near the back of the base, where the exterior walls curved round together. The Toros base had no rear wall, just a single curved end.
Stepping around a chair that had been jammed under a door handle, she was mildly surprised to hear a voice within.
"What's going on out there? Brad, are you chasing Naomi down the corridor?" The voice was older than any of the others. It had to be Steve 'Doc' Toros, the owner of both the base and the Blitz Team. And father to both Leena and Leon. But why was he trapped in his own room? Sarah was about answer him, when she heard a moan come from further down the corridor, along with what sounded like retching.
She soon reached an open doorway. Looking inside, it was clearly the bathroom. Brad was hunched over a figure knelling before the toilet, her dark red hair clumped with sweat and her body racked with spasms. Brad looked up with confusion and shock written all over his face. He clearly didn't know what to do at a time like this.
"Brad is it?" Sarah asked as she stepped though. "Why don't you go get some warm water and some towels? Maybe throw some coffee in too. Not too much, just a tiny bit…" She said as she stooped down by the clearly sick women. Brad nodded jerkily before exiting at a rapid pace.
"There now…" Sarah gentle reassured the sick women as she retched again. Sarah though back to when she had to do this with Vega, but she doubted that the same techniques that had worked on a five year old boy would work so well on a early-twenties women. "My names Sarah. Why don't you sit back a bit…?" She gently eased Naomi away from the bowl. Grabbing a handful of toilet paper, she gingerly cleaned her face. Throwing them into the bowl, she quickly flushed away the foul contents.
"Now just take it easy, that's it…" Sarah allowed Naomi to sit back, studying her as she did so. Naomi's face was pale, and she had a slightly elevated temperature. Her pulse was rapid and her breathing shallow, but there didn't seem to be anything seriously wrong.
Brad quickly returned with a steaming jug and several thick towels. Once he handed those to Sarah, he stood around, clearly wanting to be there, but not realising he was getting in the way. Sarah watched Naomi and quickly made a decision.
"Brad, why don't you check on the guy stuck in his room? Then could you keep an eye on Vega for me? I might be here for a while." Brad was about to protest, but one look at Naomi as she nodded silenced him. He walked out, shutting the door as he did so.
"Thank you." Naomi said weakly. Sarah gently held the steaming jug beneath her nose. Slowly Naomi's pulse slowed down and her breathing eased. "I didn't want to tell him, but him just standing around made me feel worse."
Sarah nodded. "Perfectly natural. People don't like to have their friends see them ill."
"Still, this was the worst spell yet." Naomi groaned. "This, whatever it is, must be getting worse…"
"Could you tell me the symptoms?" Sarah asked gently. At Naomi's raised eyebrow, she shrugged. "I do have some medical training. I might be able to tell you what it is, or at the least give you a rough idea."
Naomi eyed her for a second, before starting. "About two weeks ago I started feeling sick in the morning. At first I thought I'd just got a bug or something, but as the week progressed I had to run to the bathroom every morning." Sarah nodded, and gestured her to continue. "Apart from that, I've suddenly started getting nauseous easily, and I've gone off several of my favourite foods. Mood swings and general crankiness about covers it. Leon however says that started about a month ago." Naomi paused, scanning Sarah's face for any clue to what she was thinking. Finding none, she blurted out "What? No idea?"
'How can I tell her?' Sarah asked herself. She was not certain, but she had a strong gut feeling she knew exactly what Naomi's condition was.
"Leon said that the mood swings started about a month ago. Anything in particular happen back then?"
Naomi looked puzzled. "Not much. Oh, Leon and I were invited along by the Blitz team to the grand dinner hosted by the ZBC for all Class S teams. Each pilot could bring a guest, so we went along." Naomi smiled, remembering that night. "It was the best night of my life. A gathering of the best pilots around, a candlelit dinner fit for kings… We actually had the Guylos Emperor and his wife there, can you believe it?" Sarah nodded, amazed.
"After the meal, there was dancing and laughter, then…" Naomi paused, her face flushed red with embarrassment.
"What? What happened?" Sarah asked. When Naomi remained quiet, she tried to reassure her. "If it's something you wish kept private, I promise I won't tell the others in the Blitz…"
"Oh it's not that, we're pretty sure they know what happened." Naomi stated almost joyfully. "It's just… personal." Sarah nodded, a small smile forming on her lips.
"I can understand that, but if I'm to help you, then I need to know."
Naomi nodded. "Part way though the dancing, Brad and I slipped away. We found this really romantic balcony, and we stayed there for the rest of the evening. We kissed…" Naomi flushed again.
"There could have been an earthquake and we wouldn't have noticed…" Sarah smiled broadly now, envious of Naomi and wishing that something like that had happened to her.
"We had to leave all too soon, but… it was too late to return to our own place, and Leon had had too much to drink anyway… so we both came back here. Leon slept on the couch, while I…" Naomi swallowed, clearly embarrassed.
Sarah however had a good idea what happened next. "Brad's room?" was she asked.
Naomi nodded again, a blissful smile plastered on her face. "I still dream about that night, in there…" She flushed again.
Sarah sat back, her suspicions confirmed. While it was not one hundred percent, there was little margin for doubt. She looked at Naomi with a sad little smile.
"What? You know what I've got?"
"Oh Naomi, you have no idea do you…?"
"No! Now tell me, what's wrong with me?"
Sarah sat up. "Nothing."
Naomi was clearly confused. "What? This…" she waved a hand at the toilet. "…Is clearly not 'Nothing', is it?"
Sarah braced herself. "It's up to you how you take this…"
"Will you just tell me already?" Naomi was almost ready to straggle Sarah.
"You're pregnant."
DR: Like we didn't know that already! XD Next time, Na's reaction, and we learn more about Sarah's past...