DR: Okay, this chapter is shortish, but important...

Zeke: goodie!(grabs bag of popcorn)

Chapter 13: Tinkering & Ancient Ghosts

"Bit?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure Vega, what?"

Vega looked over at Bits feet, the only bit of him he could see. After the gathered pilots had looked over all three of Naomi's separate proposals, they had quickly searched though the piles of salvage to find the parts need for each. At least, they attempted to.

All three ideas shared the basic idea of upgrading the Ligers power systems. While some of the parts needed were in need of a clean, Bit had gathered enough to allow them to proceed. With two people able to understand it, and a third able to at least get an idea of its thoughts, the Liger had become quite active in its own upgrade. It became clear that the Liger had pondered the thought of an upgrade before now, and it had a whole set of useful tips hidden away in its memory.

Leena had been amused at the sight of the Liger arguing with Bit and Vega. "The Liger is trying to dictate how his own operation will proceed!" Now Bit was chest deep in the Liger, working his way though the zoids body to install the needed parts. Jamie had taken over cleaning each part as needed before passing them to Bit.

It had been on the point of weapons that things would have to be adjusted. The first idea had a pair of lightweight automatic cannons grafted onto the Ligers cheeks. With good range and accuracy combined with surprising power for their size, the cannons would have been a worthy upgrade. But it was clear Naomi had only been looking at the list of parts, not their conditions. Both cannons had been damaged. It was unlikely the one would ever fire again, while the other needed some extensive work to fix the damaged barrel. While the two could be combined to form a whole gun, it did not help them.

The second suggested the use of a pair of micro-missile racks instead. These tiny electronic seeking rockets were amongst the weakest weapons a zoid could carry. Their only real advantage was the fact they were dead cheap and were so easy to use: point and shoot. The fact that they were also very frugal with a zoids power supply and were surprisingly tough – hence reliable - was a bonus. Bit had several launchers and missiles, most in good condition, a testament to their durability.

The final idea had not bothered with cheek weapons at all, and had instead concentrated on the ion booster hard points. Naomi had suggested using a range of weapons there, from a sniper rifle to mortar cannons, in all three proposals. The core to the third idea was a pair of long-range missile pods slung outside the boosters, with a quad cannon turret mounted in the middle. While the turret idea was good, it would take far too long to fabricate.

While Leena and Leon went back to the base to see if their father had calmed down, Bit and Liger had talked over the suggestions. In the end they had decided to combine the second and third ideas. They would mount the 'Splinter' racks in the cheeks, while long-range missile pods would be added to the outside of the ion boosters.

Juggling the power output to the demand was a challenge, but Jamie had always had a head for numbers. They also had to find which pods were in the best shape, and could be made ready for tomorrow. In the end, they settled on using two dual shot LRM pods – the same class and type as those on Leena's Gunsniper in fact – and cut down the largest micro-missile pods to fit in the cheeks, since they only had one pod that would fit neatly, and that was damaged. Vega was tasked with marking out the 'Splinters' for cutting. Each pod, originally a sixteen shot pod, would have to lose four tubes to fit, plus any that were too badly damaged to be safe. Luckily the damage was confined to the ends of the racks, so they weren't wasting any tubes.

"Bit, when you and the Liger fight, do you pick up on the Liger emotions?"

"Sure. Liger and I are perfectly in step." The Liger roared in agreement.

"What do you guys feel?"

"Excited, challenged, and enjoyment. Why?" Bit now pulled himself out from within the Liger, before making his way over to Vega. As he sat beside him at the workbench, Vega noticed that Bit was splattered in lubrication oil and zoid fluid.

"When the Fury fought, I felt what it was feeling." Vega sighed.

"What was that?"

"It felt angry. Angry that other zoids would challenge it. Angry that others would not recognise its power and flee before it." Vega hesitated. "Angry that it had been entombed for so long, and that it was not helped when it was being so."

"Wait. You're saying that the Fury was entombed under the sea without its consent?" Bit had always got the impression that you couldn't do something like that to a zoid. Especially one as powerful as the Fury was.

Vega nodded empathically. "That really came though strong. It was grabbed, stunned into submission, and then entombed in a casing that held it locked in place." Vega sighed again. "I think it must have either focused on its anger at that injustice to maintain its sanity, or…"

"…Or the Fury did go insane." Bit finished. Now things made more sense. Clearly if the Berserker Fury had that much pent up anger in it, it would act violently at the slightest provocation. It was a pressure cooker, without a safety value. The rage had no safe way of dissipating, so it built up till it was unleashed on the poor soul who had been foolish enough to provide a means of relief.

Bit was struck by a thought. "Did it ever explain why you could calm it down?"

Vega looked thoughtful. "I never fully understood it's explanation, but I think that at some time in its past, before its incarceration, the Fury belonged to someone who looked like me. Or I look like him. It says that I have a similar personality too, at my core." Vega shook his head. "As I said, I haven't yet figured out what that means. But I'm worried too."

"How come?"

Vega pushed back a lock of hair. "It can't be good for the Fury to have all that anger locked up inside right?" Bit nodded. "So, what happens when I can't control it anymore? The Fury could wipe out half the population of Europa, all by itself."

"So you think the Fury needs to let go of its rage…"

Vega nodded. "Yea, but…"

"But what?"

"What if when – if – it can let go, would it remain the same zoid?" Vega's face clearly showed his worry. "What if that rage is all that it has left? Would it remain a powerful zoid, or would it become nothing more than a vegetable? Does it still have a personality, like the Liger does?"

Bit thought for a second. "Well, assuming that it does, I'd say that it's rage may empower it now, but if you can tap its power in other ways, it could be just as powerful, just not as homicidal, as it is now." Bit grinned, trying to cheer Vega up.

Vega nodded slowly. "Maybe." Bit frowned.

"You talked to Sarah about this? She might know something..."

"No. I'm not a little kid anymore. I can figure this out myself." Vega's face was set with defiance, and for the first time he looked like he had fought, ruthless and undaunted.

As Bit watched the change come over Vega, he realised that when Vega set his face that way, he reminded Bit of someone famous. No, somebody infamous…

"Vega, hold that look…"

"Huh? What look?"

"That 'I don't need anybody's help' look you just had." Vega, clearly puzzled, complied. Bit continued to stare at him. He was more sure every second that somehow the face was familiar, but…

A low growl from above distracted Bit. He looked up at the Liger Zero.

"What buddy?"

#Vega's face, when he had that look…#

"Yea, what about it?"

#I've seen that look before, on a face very similar…# The Liger sounded almost shaken.

Before Bit could reply, Leon's Blade Liger growled too.

#Blade say's he's getting memories of a face like that too…#

Both Bit and Vega were startled, too startled to notice that the Liger Zero had referred to Leon's zoid by name. Clearly something was afoot here…

"What's all the growling about?"

Bit looked over at the entrance to the main base. Both Leon and Sarah stood there, clearly worried about what was going on.

"Both our zoids are saying they've got memories of someone who looks like Vega!"

"What? You mean both Ligers?"

"Yea. When Vega sets his face in a certain way, he reminds me of someone infamous… But I can't remember who…"

Sarah meanwhile was staring at the Blade Liger. Now she was closer that feeling was back, stronger than before. She felt that she and it had some past connection, a connection that was dark and filled with hate and fear…

…You have nothing to fear from me, little one. I may have faint memories I dislike, from a life I did not live, but they don't control me…

Sarah gasped. The voice had come from within her head. She realised the Blade Liger was staring right at her.

'Who…who are you?'

…I am Blade. Leon Toros is my pilot…

The Blade Liger was talking to her, directly mind to mind! 'How is this possible? Us talking like this?'

…You know how, little blue haired one…

'No I don't'

…Blade, human memories are not as strong or as good as ours… another mental voice stated. Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah could see the Liger Zero was looking across the hanger. Its 'voice' was much older sounding, wiser.

…True, though considering her mixed heritage, I'd expect her to be at least a little more knowledgeable…

Sarah hated being talked about in the third person. 'What are you two talking about?'

…Sarah Obscura, I'm sorry. Clearly the knowledge has been lost over the generations. But at least I now know who it is Vega reminds me of… The Liger Zero apologised.

Sarah was almost afraid to ask. 'Who?'

…Raven… It stated gently. …You are – I can tell - a direct descendent of him and the Ancient Zoidian Reese. In fact, you look like Reese, while Vega is, physically, almost exactly like Raven… The Liger paused. Sarah knew that Leon, Bit and Vega were all talking to her, but she couldn't listen.

…Sarah, despite the many generations in between, you maintain a strong genetic link with Reese. You have her blood in your veins. That is why we can communicate like this, though it puts an incredible strain on your nervous system. You're partly an Ancient Zoidian…

Sarah felt the Liger withdraw. Suddenly feeling weak, she slowly toppled. As her view went black, the last thing she saw was the floor rushing up towards her.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Naomi didn't know how long she lay there. Her thoughts were completely centred on the startling diagnosis Sarah Obscura had given.

She still couldn't believe it, but it certainly fitted the pattern of events and facts. Sarah had first hand experience of pregnancy, so she should know how to recognise the signs. But there was still that element of doubt. First chance she got, Naomi would go to a qualified doctor for a professional opinion. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sarah, but that she needed the reassurance that only a fully trained professional could give.

Naomi secretly hoped that Sarah was right. Deep down, she was thrilled at the prospect, though it terrified her almost as much. And as much of a let down as having to drop out of zoid competitions would be, the prospect of bringing a new life into the world was one she could barely wait to experience.

But how would Brad react? That was the million credit question. Neither of them had asked it of the other, and he was a natural loner. The prospect of having to care for a bouncy little child might be too much for him to bear. But on the other hand it might allow him to open up more, show that emotional side of his soul that so rarely surfaced.

Naomi had always been driven and suffered no nonsense. First, get it confirmed or denied. The she could start worrying about how to tell Brad. She knew that her parents would be over the moon, though her father would be a bit put off that she wasn't married yet. He was old-fashioned like that. Not that Naomi had minded at all. She too had always assumed that she'd get married then have kids. But she had not met the right kind of guy. Brad was the best yet, and she truly loved him, but was he the marrying type? How would the best known free spirit react to the idea of settling down with one woman and children?

Naomi shrugged as she pulled herself up. One thing for sure, no matter what happened between her and Brad, she knew she would get support from not only the rest of the Blitz team, but Sarah too. Naomi was certain that she would need all the help she could get, and Sarah had been kind and courteous. If she had any say in the matter, Naomi was going to vote fully for bringing both Sarah and Vega Obscura into the Blitz Team, full time.

"An interesting plan. No one would see it coming."

The man laughed. "Of course, how could they? An attack by complete unknowns?"

"I do however wonder if we should expose our forces so soon. The manufacturing bays are still not quite complete…"

"Heli, you've been working on those bays for almost a hundred and fifty years! How much longer will it take?"

"Not long. Predictions indicate that full production can begin in a little over five weeks."

"I can't wait that long. We need this attack. We cannot afford to have those last fragments from my past continue to survive. They need to be eliminated!" He slammed his fist on the desk.

'Perhaps we should consider an alternative force, say, some of the remaining Backdraft zoids?" Helios suggested. "Under my direct control, they would fight to the last. And it would be understandable, would it not? The last gasp of revenge…"

The man sat back, a sly grin forming on his scarred face. "Helios, you're a genius."

"Of course." Somehow the super computer sounded distinctly smug.

"So how long before you can get this force ready?"

"Four days."