Chapter 31: Back Again
After that first win against the Raiders, the new and improved Blitz Team hoped to go on another winning streak. Expanded with the extra five pilots and zoids, the team would at last able to engage the other Class S teams on a level footing.
Back at the base the Team quickly moved in. The last of the work needed was done quickly and tidily, allowing the Blitz to start to bring their personal touches to their new home. Brad and Naomi quickly claimed one of the larger rooms at the end of the horseshoe shaped set as their own, while Sarah took up the room directly opposite them. She was not quite yet ready to share her bed again. The others soon sorted themselves out, with both Steve and Stoller either sides of the main stairs.
Their next battle was two days after the team first returned home. Bit, Leena, Brad, Stoller, Leon and Jamie took to the field against the Dune Team. While the other teams zoids were smaller than average, they made it up with numbers. Due to the battle mode, where the total value of all the competing zoids must not exceed a certain value, teams that used smaller zoids could easily outnumber their opponents. In the Dune Teams case, they had four Heldigunners, three Guysacks, two Stealth Vipers, and a War Shark.
"Welcome back to the fight Blitz." Their leader called from within the War Shark as the Judge arrived.
It quickly became apparent how the Dune Team worked. The Vipers flanked the Blitz, trusting their stealth systems. Everything else went under the loose dirt and sand of the battlefield. The Guysacks would pop up to fire salvos from their customised tail guns, diving back under the sand if anyone waved a gun their way.
The Heldigunners performed hit and run strikes, bursting up to fire short ranged bursts of gunfire or using their tail blades before disappearing again. The War Shark was so far bidding it's time.
First strike went to the Blitz, as Leena spotted another bulge forming ahead of her and let rip. The Guysack came up only to get blasted out of the fight.
Brad and Jamie went after the Vipers, who were sniping from the rocky regions bordering the field. They each nailed their targets, Brad slicing one in two with his laser claws, while Jamie's target lost its guns. It dived back toward the sand.
Stoller stood still, watching. His Elephander could withstand multiple hits, so he could afford to wait. When a pair of Heldigunners came at him, he aimed and fired just ahead of the one. His shots caught the zoid as it came up from underground. Smirking, Stoller swung the Elephanders trunk around and managed to grab the second one as it leapt at him. Swinging the smaller zoid around for a minute, he finally threw it up into the air. It came down again hard enough to knock it out.
Bit and Leon tagged teamed the other two, Leon slicing one in half, Bit putting his down with a volley of mini-missiles. The remaining Guysacks tried to avenge them, but Leena distracted them, taking one out. Bit got the other with a pair of LRMs, which punched though the thin layer of loose sand as the small scorpion zoid tried to escape underground again.
However, before the team could celebrate, Leena was hit hard from behind. The War Shark had popped up and took her down. The battle dragged on as the Blitz struggled to get to grips with the remaining two zoids, somewhere underground. Leon and Brad took severe damage from the War Sharks hit and run attacks, but the other pilot bit off more than he could chew when it tried to attack the Elephander. The shark leapt out of the dirt, bit down on the Elephanders back… and suddenly the pilot realised that that wouldn't be enough to bring the much larger zoid down. Stoller latched on with the trunk, before hurling the small zoid away. Leon finished it off with a laser burst.
The Last Viper surfaced to surrender.
X-X-X-X-X-X
While they were gone the contractors were true to their word, and got quite a modest sized pool into the 'Gym' room as it was being called. Due to the shape of the space it was fitting into, one side curved round in parallel with the outer wall. Where the internal walls turned back around the computer room, the pools edge shot out at an angle to the outer wall. No expense was spared, and the pool's sharpest corner was turned into a Jacuzzi.
Every room received a coat of paint, and the last of the work was completed. The roof-mounted retractable skylight was silent, and power and water were connected. Brad and Naomi's room had a partition added to go with their extended bathroom, screening the huge king-sized bed from the door. Steve had all the spare wall space in his covered with shelving, on which he placed all his precious models.
Vega soon began to use the newly bought gym equipment almost exclusively, rebuilding his wasted muscles. Naomi spent most of her free time in the Jacuzzi, sitting with Brad and allowing the warm currents to caress her. They had stopped by in the Romeo City hospital for a check up, and she had been cleared for zoid battling. But she had strict instructions not to stress her leg, and if she started getting any queasy feelings from her belly, she was to pull out of the battle.
Sarah soon took over all the administration duties that Jamie had been forced to do before, while both of them, Pierce and Naomi all had to clean up after the Blitz. Stoller and Leon were man enough to do their own laundry, but even then they weren't that good at it.
Naomi entered the next battle, and proved once and for all that she was the best sniper around, as the battle was against the Burning Rain team again. As the fight began, she slipped away to find high ground. While the rest of the team kept the other team occupied, she set up on a nearby bluff. Looking though her scope, she could see Bit, Brad and Leon dancing around the barrage fired by the artillery zoids on the other team, while Jamie and Pierce harassed the artillery zoids themselves. The Burning Rain Team had switched out their Cannon Tortoise and a Hellcat for a pair of Command Wolves out fitted for anti-air work.
Her first shot took down a Wolf, leaving a free path for Pierce to swoop in and take down the other one. Her second sent a Dibison sprawling, and her third put it down for good. While Pierce and Jamie strafed the other Dibison, She swung her sights back towards the others. She watched as one Hellcat was laid low by a swing from the Liger Zero, then noticed the other Hellcat de-cloaking behind Bit. With no time for a warning, she fired a round off right over the Ligers head. The round shattered the Hellcat's guns, and as the pilot reeled, Brad finished it off.
"Nice shooting…" Bit called, a little shaky. The Ligers roar also sounded a little rattled.
Naomi just smiled. It was good to be back.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"I have to tell you, your one lucky young man"
Vega smiled. It had been almost four weeks since the fight against the unknown machines. The Fury was practically climbing the walls, eager to compete once more. But Vega needed doctors' approval before he could fight again.
"All our tests come back green. The X-rays show healthy, strong bones." The Doctor summed up the results. "There are no medical grounds to prevent you fighting again."
Vega walked out of the hospital with a spring in his step. At last he was cleared to fight in Class S! Finally he could join Bit Cloud and the rest of the Blitz team on the battlefield.
As he and Leon sat in the jeep waiting for Naomi to finish her weekly check-up, Vega allowed his thoughts to wander back to those strange machines. The ZBC had published a report of its findings a week ago.
There hadn't been much. All six of the unknown machines had been completely destroyed. All that was left to go on was scraps of wreckage, the odd damaged weapon and the recordings from the team's zoids combat data. Certainly these things were powerful, but also resilient. Everyone was advised to evade them if sighted.
The zoids that fought besides them however were revealing more details. Each zoid had been heavily modified, with a mass of computer gear replacing the pilot's seat. Not one zoid had been piloted. But the changes ran throughout the zoids bodies. Strange components not natural to a zoid had replaced more traditional parts, and the command system was notable in its absence. That certainly explained how the zoids had kept on going long after they should have. Without the command systems to kick in and shut them down, only critical damage could lay them low.
The most worrying changes were in the zoid cores however. Instead of the smooth, perfect spheres that normally occurred, these cores had been mutated, altered. The pale white colour faded and darkened, and on the few still active, the core camber was filled with a blood red glow.
Vega hoped that he would never meet one of those things again, but somehow he knew he would…
X-X-X-X-X-X
Helios watched without emotion as the self-styled 'Dark Lord' ranted and raved at the strike teams fault.
"Helios, you fool! The Blitz team defeated your force. Worse, they got the nuke away from their base, and dropped it down a bloody mine! It did nothing!"
"On the contrary, it has thrown doubt and fear into the minds of the people. The fact that a nuclear weapon was detonated has scared the world's population."
"Bah! And what is the result? A few quivering hearts, and the Blitz team are now stronger than ever!" He stormed off, looking for a drink no doubt.
"Maybe, but they are still a small group…" Helios told the Lord's departing back.
Helios watched the man walk away from this discussion again, the third they had had after the strike groups unlikely defeat at the hands of the Blitz. Humans or humanoids, both were given over to illogical outburst of emotion – what a curious idea! – and disillusion. No wonder Prometheus had begun his war to destroy them.
But Helios had considered all the angles, and he did not feel disappointed at all. The Blitz Team was the most powerful team on the planet yes, but they were still only nine zoids. Once his construction bays were completed, Helios would simply drown them in units. They had barely survived the last attack, once he began to send whole armies out, not even they would live to tell the tale.
Helios focused on the man. The 'Dark Lord' was old, and growing weaker each day. Despite his statements, he was also losing his mind, dwelling on his past defeats, losing focus all too easily. Helios had to do more and more the managing of the agents, watching the headlines and all the other stuff that the lord had done.
The day when Helios could discard the weak human like being he had worked with for so long was almost here. Then, before his death, he would learn that Helios was closer to god than him…
X-X-X-X-X-X
Over the next couple of months, the Blitz Team forged ahead within Class S. People stopped whatever they were doing to watch one of their battles. And the Blitz did not disappoint. Now at full strength, the team were almost unstoppable.
Bit and the Liger Zero remained the most mobile and graceful of the ground zoids, weaving between weapons fire with ease. Brads Shadow Fox would disappear, and then suddenly strike from the flanks and rear of the other teams. Naomi was rarely seen herself, but her impact on the battles was clear. Zoid after zoid would fall to her precise shots.
Leena remained the artillery fanatic, but even she sharpened up, her barrages on target more often than not. Stoller became the immoveable object; taking everything thrown at him and throwing it right back.
Jamie and Pierce weaved aerial duets, their zoids contrails forming intricate patterns in the sky, while Vega and the Fury turned into whirlwinds of destruction, an irresistible force. And Leon wove between them all, countering charges by the other teams and supporting the Liger Zero.
The team did not always win, but they did win more often than not. And every battle was one to remember. The Liger Zero and the Fury moved with a grace never seen before, and the skill in the other pilots was unquestioned. Even those fights that the Blitz lost were spectacular, the whole team giving their all, and usually they only lost because the other team had luck on their side.
Their strongest rivals were the Raiders, and these matches were always the most eagerly anticipated. But even against the other teams, people watched in awe. Doubts about Sarah and the other ex-Backdraft members faded as they settled into the Blitz Team.
The memories of the devastating attack on the Blitz team also faded as they settled into their new home. The vast amount of space they now had allowed them all to feel comfortable without being cramped. The low quality takeaways and fast food was replaced with simple, but well prepare foodstuffs. The lower floor turned from a set of rooms to a home, while the upstairs garden turned green. Sarah and Naomi almost took over that garden, arranging plants for hours. They also talked about motherhood, Sarah passing on sage advice.
One thing Bit noticed, and commented on in jest at first, was that the skylight that took up the central region of the indoor garden had a raised lip. "We've almost got a preformed pool here!"
His comment set both ladies thinking, and when the team set off for their next battle, both remained behind to work on their idea. When the rest of the team returned three days later, both women were waiting, smiles on their faces.
"What are you smiling at?" Brad asked as he gently hugged Naomi, mindful of the expanded bulge of her belly. He could tell she was hiding something.
"Sarah and I have a surprise for you all…" Was all she said as the team entered the base.
The effect was all both of them could have hoped for. The others stood just within the door, spellbound. The light that came though the skylight into the lounge rippled and wavered, in constant motion. Harder shadows flirted about against the shifting light.
Grinning wider, they led the team upstairs and out into the garden. Bit summed up the new look in one word. "Cool!"
Both women had turned the skylight into the base of an indoor aquarium. The edges had been raised up higher, high enough to sit on comfortably. Then water had been added to form a large pool. The back wall had a broad curtain fountain falling from high on the wall down onto a newly added rockery, which flowed into the aquarium itself. The path at that end had been raised up an over the many trickling streams of water by a hand carved wooden bridge.
The aquarium itself had a small number of plants in baskets along the rim, but the most interesting feature was the brightly coloured fish that swam gently throughout the water. They had been causing the hard shadows seen below. As Leena stepped closer and stooped down, many of the fish swam closer, poking their mouths out of the water, the small stubby whiskers on their chins just breaching the surface. She smiled as she let the small Koy Carp suckle her fingertips.
"This is wonderful…" Pierce breathed in awe.
"So who's getting creative then?" Leon grinned as he hugged Sarah's waist from behind, his chin on her shoulder.
"Actually, this was originally Bit's idea." Sarah told him. Stoller and Bit stared at her.
"Bit's?"
"Mine?"
Naomi could only laugh at the identical looks of confusion on both their faces, leaving Sarah to explain. "Bit commented that with the skylight having a lip, we almost had a preformed pool up here. Both me and Na' were trying to figure out what to do about this, and his comment got us thinking."
"We got in those great contractors again," Naomi continued the story. "They were more than happy to assist us in doing this." She waved a hand at the raised edging of the skylight. "The local rocks around her provided the rockery, and the contractor chief knew a good garden centre that specialises in aquatic gardens. He and the boss there are good friends."
Sarah took over. "It was him who suggested the Koy. 'They get very friendly very quickly, particularly if the waters clear. Soon they'll be surging towards anyone walking close, begging for food.' He also helped us arrange the fountain and all the other waterworks."
Steve nodded, impressed. Brad however had a question.
"How are you going to stop the bottom filling up with dirt?"
Naomi smiled. "Every night, a wiper will slide across the bottom. Any muck that builds up that day will be swept away and down to the water treatment tank below."
The whole team stood there for some time, enchanted by the sound of the gently falling water, and the actions of the Koy fish as they swam about their new home.
X-X-X-X-X-X
As the season progressed, the Blitz Team continued to reach new heights, both in the class and at home. The new aquarium was popular, and now the team had old and new opponents over for dinner. The Blitz Base was a home now, cared for with the respect of one.
Leon and Sarah's courtship continued slowly growing, to the delight of Vega and Steve. The pair would go out together alone now, and they spent considerable free time together. Aware of her past relationship, Leon went out of his way to wait for her. He wanted her comfortable, not feeling rushed or forced into something she was not ready for.
Sarah for her part was at last living her life fully. She knew Leon was letting her set the pace, and she loved that in him. At last she felt could be a woman, rather than the cold-hearted bitch she had to become in the Backdraft. That sorry person was now gone, dead without any mourners.
Jamie and Pierce slowly grew closer too. The pair of them would discuss tactics, aerial combat manoeuvres and cooking for hours. Slowly the others noticed that the differences between Jamie and the Wild Eagle were slowly fading. It was as if Pierce's presence and attention were slowly allowing the two halves of Jamie's soul to merge together.
Bit and Leena's relationship however continued to be on rocky grounds. They would be cuddling happily in one another's arms one minute, and then he'd do or say something that set her off, with predictable consequences. Their stormy romance was a constant heart pain for Steve and Leon.
But the biggest pain to Steve was his forthcoming visit to the ZBC Prison. Dr Layon was due to be released with a week, and Steve knew that they could not afford to continue their feud any longer.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Layon sat in the room, waiting. He had been told he had a visitor, so he had been led to this room. Barely wider than a phone booth, it was divided in two by a transparent wall, with a desk each side. A pair of linked phones sat each side of the pane.
He had not been told who was coming, so Layon sat there, wondering. Surely no one from the Backdraft would be visiting. The Backdraft was dead, if the ZBC guards were to be believed. Since he had known about the real strength of the Backdraft, Layon suspected they were right.
'So what…' he thought, idly lacing his fingers. He had no ties to the Backdraft; in fact they had caused more trouble than they were worth. And they nearly killed Leena…
Movement out of the corner of his eye made him look up. Layon's breath rushed in though his teeth.
Steve 'Doc' Toros stood on the other side of the clear pane, looking sick, sad and worried all at once.
DR: Okay, let's run the check list once more. First aid kit?
Shadow: Check.
DR: Body armour?
Zeke: (muffled) Check.
DR: (shakes head at Zeke with his snout in the human jacket) Shields?
Shadow: Check.
DR: Gas masks and sleeping gas?
Van: Check... (drops sleeping gas grenade, the pin caught in his finger)
Shadow: You IDIOT!
DR: (Sighs) Till next time, when Layon learns the truth, and Leon and Sarah get closer... (dashes out of room before gas can affect him. Van, Zeke and Shadow keel over, fast asleep...)