DR: Once more unto the breach...
Shadow: Translation; here's another Class S battle for you all...
Chapter 8: Burning Hail
As Pierce had hoped, the notice of their next battle came in the next day. Unfortunately, it was a local battle on the Monday, so they would not be away Tuesday night. Pierce had no choice to go ahead with the date. She knew that she should not really be going out with Rico, but he was simply too nice to simply drop. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. Besides, she needed more time away from Jamie to think things through.
That Monday morning, The Blitz prepared to meet the Hailfire team on the field. According to the data Jamie had gathered, the Hailfire team got their name due to their use of rapid-fire weapons. Vulcans, micro missiles, automatic cannons… anything that fired quickly.
Bit along with Brad, Leena, Leon, Vega, and Stroller took the field against the six zoids of the other team. Jamie's plan revolved around the Blade Liger, Fury and Elephander leading from the front, their shields up. As they approached, the other zoids would dive out from behind them to fire off a salvo before ducking back behind the shields. Bit and Vega teamed up, as did Brad and Leon, with Leena taking cover behind Stroller. The Elephander was the closest in size to the Iguanosaur, and its shield was the only one that could screen them both. Plus, as Leena's zoid was more suited to attacking from a distance, it would not be adversely affected by having to keep pace with the slow Elephander.
"Ah, I see Mrs Cloud is out…" Deuce, leader of the Hailfire team called from his Gojulas. "I hope your not planning to do to us what you did to that arrogant jerk in the Helic team…"
Leena smiled sweetly. "No. He earned that."
"That he did." Deuce replied, while mopping his brow jokingly. A chorus of chuckles drifted across the net.
Bit grinned as he looked over the Hailfire's zoids. Deuce's Gojulas zoid had switched the shoulder supercannons for Vulcans, 60mm if he was not mistaken. All the secondary weapons had also been exchanged for automatic cannons.
To each side of his towering zoid was a Red Horn, a close relative of a Dark Horn. In fact, the only difference between them was the colouration. These one's carried a pair of Vulcans each, the muzzles extending over the shoulders. Further out on each side stood a Helcat, their hides painted a sandy yellow. The last zoid was a little out of place. It was a Gunsniper, perched up on a raised rock formation to the rear of the Hailfire team. It had a 'Wild Weasel' cross member, but instead of the twin lasers, it carried a Vulcan on each spar. The massive guns dwarfed the small zoid.
"So, ready to dance?"
"You bet!" Vega called, his eyes shining in anticipation. The Fury echoed that sentiment with a bellowing roar.
As the Judge thundered into a nearby cliff top, Pierce watched as the Blitz assumed the formation that Jamie had suggested. Since she and the other ex-Backdraft people had joined, the team had begun to listen and even act on his suggestions more often.
'Got to stop referring to myself as "ex-Backdraft" ' Pierce chided herself. She looked across at Jamie as he sat before the console of the Hover Cargo. Biting her lip, she tried to work out her feelings. Truth was that Pierce was not sure exactly what she felt anymore. Jamie was the original sweet, honest man she had always been looking for. But he was still young, and what could he know about the ways of the heart? Pierce wasn't sure if she wanted to inflict such things on him, because his innocence was one of the things she loved about him.
Sarah saw the look that Pierce had thrown towards Jamie. When Pierce had gotten back that night, it had been very late. So late that no one else had been up. Since then Pierce seemed constantly distracted and on edge. Sarah just knew that there was something wrong, but Pierce refused to be pinned down. Even the kitten had picked up on her feelings, and seemed to be trying to get Pierce to settle down and talk. But nothing seemed to work.
"The Blitz Team Vs the Hailfire Team, battle mode 0892. Ready… Fight!"
At the Judge's signal, the three Blitz team zoids with shields engaged them and began to push forwards. Leon went left, the crimson Blade Liger pounding forwards as its laser blades glimmered in the sun. On the right Vega jetted forwards, the Liger Zero riding his tail. Stroller set the Elephander to advance, the ground trembling from not only his heavy footfalls, but also those of the Iguanosaur behind him.
On the far side of the plain, the central three Hailfire zoids didn't move. Both Helcats slipped off to the sides, engaging cloaks once they were out of sight of the Blitz, while the Gunsniper spun round and engaged sniper mode. "Okay, which one first boss?" The pilot called.
"The Fury Tomas. It and the Liger Zero could take us out all by themselves."
"Roger that, get ready…" As the Gunsniper lined up on the Fury, both Red Horns and the Gojulas twisted on the spot to bring their guns to bear. Vega watching this frowned.
"What are they up to?"
The Fury growled. #I'm not sure… I have a bad feeling about this…#
Flicking a switch, the Gunsniper pilot set his sights, then pulled the trigger. The tail mounted sniper rifle fired three shots in rapid succession, the muzzle flares merging into one. The bullets screamed across the battlefield towards the Fury…
The first round impacted with the Fury's shield and punched part way through. The second hit the first dead on and almost got right through, mashing both rounds. When the third hit, the first two shattered and allowed it to breach the shield. The round tore through one of the shield generation pylons before digging deep into the workings of the pulse laser the pylon was on. Not quite spent, the round was deflected off a denser component before ricocheting into one of the Fury's hover jets.
Howling in an equal mixture of pain and surprise, the Fury lost momentum and his shield crumbled, since without all four pylons working the shield system failed. His feet dug into the ground and nearly tripped him up. Vega was jolted around inside as the Fury struggled to compensate for the attack.
"What happened?" Vega was wide eyed in shock.
Bit's eyes shot wide when the Fury stumbled. "Shit!" He cursed as the Fury's tail closed rapidly. The Liger jinked to the right, and only just dodged the Fury, which was still a little dazed. "Vega, you all right?"
"Yea, I'm okay, but how did…" Vega was cut off however when a hail of small calibre shells rained down on the Fury. Long streams of tracer looped across the plain, stitching all over the Fury. Larger detonations battered the Fury backwards as heavier fire slammed in. Bit was about to return fire for Vega when a short burst of laser pulses screamed in and battered the Liger's flank. When he looked towards the source, there was nothing there.
"What the…?" Bit said, just before another burst cut in from behind. The Liger, expecting an attack dropped down and evaded the burst, but only just. Bit scanned the region behind him, but again nothing. "Where are they Liger?"
#I don't know!#
"What?" Bit yelled. He would have continued but them he saw it, out of the corner of his eye. A faint distortion, just before more laser pulses began to be thrown at him. As the Liger ducked again, Bit was able to see the outline of the Helcat's head and shoulders before it ceased fire and faded away. 'Optical Stealth… perfect.'
"I thought that you had to drop a cloak before you could fire!"
"With the most common type of optical stealth, yes." Jamie answered. "But not the top of the line models. That's military grade stuff."
"Great." Brad commented as he adjusted the sensors on the Fox. Suddenly another light flashed on the far side of the plain, and twin small explosions appeared on the back of Leon's Blade Liger. His shield collapsed as the upper generator plate was ruined, and the back boosters failed, causing the Liger to stumble. Cursing as he closed with the Liger, Brad jumped over Leon. As he did so, the Foxes powerful sensors saw over the near dunes. Brad sucked in his breath as he saw a moving distortion, in the rough shape of a Helcat.
Leena snarled as she watched Vega get pounded and Bit held up. The Iguanosaur leapt to the left out from behind the Elephander. She triggered her missiles, before loosing off a long burst of fire from her own Vulcans. Bit too fired his long ranged missiles, before diving forwards. Fire from one of the Red Horns was all ready tracking him, while the other one was raking the ground around Leon. The Fury continued to stand, but the constant pounding from the Hailfire's Gojulas was wearing even the stubborn Fury down.
Leena's missiles screamed in to slam into and around the Red Horns, while Bit's salvo struck the Gojulas. All three zoids were rocked by the detonations, but none keeled over. The burst of fire from Leena's guns tore into the rocky ground around the Gunsniper. At that range picking out something that small was very difficult, even for an Ultimate X zoid. Despite that, the barrage ripped apart the cliff face beneath the smaller zoid, and it crumbled apart, taking with it the Gunsniper.
Deuce sighed as he watched the Gunsniper go out of the battle. He had known that they would not have been able to stop the entire Blitz, but getting two of them was better than he had hoped. "Keep up the pressure people!" He called out; bring his guns to bear back onto the Fury.
Smirking to himself, the pilot of one of the Helcats lined up on Leon who had taken cover behind a dune while he sorted himself out. The Helcat crept up to almost point blank range…
Suddenly the small zoid was jolted and alarms began to wail. As the zoid thudded into the dirt, the command system frozen and the cloak falling, and he saw the Shadow Fox bounding across another dune, while Leon dived forwards, no longer acting as if disorientated. It had been a set up.
The Fury gave one last roar, before falling face first into the sand. Vega sighed as he read the single message on his screen. "Never mind Fury. We'll learn from this and they won't get us next time."
The Blitz pushed forwards, right into the teeth of the Hailfire's fire. Leon and Bit had to face down the fire from the Red Horns, while Brad found himself the target for the Gojulas. The amount of fire those three zoids put out was staggering. All three Blitz team zoids were taking hits…
Suddenly a bright beam stabbed out from the Iguanosaur, slamming into the Gojulas. The towering saurian zoid was blasted right over, crashing to the ground with all the grace of a collapsing skyscraper. Thin smoke rose from the huge blast mark on its chest.
Both the Red Horns were stunned by the sudden removal of their team leader, and both Bit and Leon took advantage. Both Ligers dived forwards, closing in. While Bit fired off another volley of missiles, Brad joined in with Leon to rock the Red Horn before them with laser fire. The Red Horn gave as good as it got, twin lines of tracers tearing into the Blade Liger. Leon stumbled again and fell, but Brad was almost in range for a Strike Laser Claw.
Bit's missiles rocked their target, and the Liger pushed forward, the back ion boosters kicking in to push the Liger forwards. The Red Horn recovered quickly though, and again the Vulcans unleashed a deadly rain. Liger pushed forwards, daring the Red Horn to stop him. Rounds skimmed off the armour, but then one got sucked into one of the boosters. The booster exploded violently, tearing off the missile pod and driving the Liger into the ground.
Bit shook his head to clear the ringing in his head as the Liger lay there for a second, fighting back pain. Looking up, he saw the Red Horn swing its guns down…
…Only for a bright stream of cannon fire to crash into its side, knocking the Red Horn for six.
"Don't mess with my husband!" Leena yelled over the comm as her guns put the Red Horn out of the match.
Stroller, standing just behind her, smiled slightly as he watched as Leena relented. But he quickly frowned as wavering distortion ghosted in from the right. "Leena, behind you!"
Leena didn't think: she just reacted. The Iguanosaur's right rear leg lashed out, catching the much smaller Helcat in the shoulder. As the small zoid was pitched away, the optical stealth failed. The Helcat hit the ground hard, but it was not out of the battle. Stroller fixed that with a quick burst of his own guns.
Brad leapt from one dune to another, dancing just ahead of the fire from the last Red Horn. At last he was in range. His next leap was towards the rear of the Red Horn, something the other Pilot was not expecting since he had always been leaping back and forth. Outfoxed, he had no chance to stop the Fox before Brad unleashed his strike laser claw on the Red Horn. It thudded into the dirt, the gashes across its haunches glowing from the heat.
"The battle is over! The battle is over! The winner is… the Blitz Team!"
x x x x x x
Bit walked over to where Deuce stood by his fallen zoid. Behind him the Hover Cargo was already recovering the fallen zoids of the team, while the Hailfire team's Whale King hovered overhead, grapples hanging from the open lower bay. One by one the teams' zoids were lifted up into the massive aerial transport.
"That was some battle!" He called. Deuce turned round to face Bit, before his eyes shifted to look at Leena, tucked under Bit's arm.
"That it was Bit, that it was." He smiled.
Leena looked down for a second. "Sorry about hitting you with my zoids main weapon…"
"It's all right Mrs Cloud. You did what you had to do. Zoids always get trashed in battles." Leena's smile returned.
"See, I told you he'd be reasonable." Bit chided her.
"No offence Bit, but with your wife's reputation, I'd be foolish – or suicidal – to be anything but." Deuce grinned at the blush that ran up Leena's face.
"Don't worry Leena dear. I still love you…" Bit whispered to her, tilting her chin up so he could look her in the eyes. At that moment the fallen Gojulas was lifted upwards.
"That's it boss. We're fully loaded." The voice of the Whale King pilot came over Deuce's radio.
"Okay, get ready to leave." He told the pilot before turning to Bit and Leena, who were continuing to look into each other's eye. Deuce was struck again how well those two went together, despite the tales about their relationship before. He could see the spark of true love in their eyes, and he wished them eternal happiness. Seeing how they were going to stand there for the rest of the day, he, regretfully, coughed politely.
"Well, my teams ready to roll. I assume yours is ready to eat?"
Both Blitz pilots looked at him, smiled and turned back towards the waiting Iguanosaur. "Lead on Deuce!"
x x x x x x
Slater sat at the bar, his eyes glued to the broadcast screen behind it. Displayed was a rerun of the fight between the Blitz and the Hailfire's. He cursed as Leena took down the Gojulas with the same weapon that had almost blown his to pieces. Only this time, the Gojulas was nowhere near as badly damaged.
As the Judge declared the winner, he threw his empty glass at the screen. It hit just below the picture of Leena, shattering into a thousand pieces.
"Hey, you're going to pay for that!" The young barkeep called across. Slater just glared at him.
"Get me another drink. Now." He snarled, one hand resting on the butt of his sidearm. The young barkeep took one look, gulped, before he poured another round for the Pilot.
"You know, Helic Republic pilots don't normally throw glasses around bars…" The voice came from over his shoulder as he took a swig. "…Course, since you're in here drinking that stuff, my guess is that you're trying to drown your sorrows."
Slater turned to look at the man before him. Of average height, anything that might identify the man was hidden beneath the long hooded cloak he wore. Only his mouth was visible, the shadow of the hood obscuring his face.
"What is it to you?" Slater asked, a threat in his tone.
"Nothing really, except I just wish to check something." The mystery man slipped into the stool next to him. "Is the source of your sorrow the Blitz team, by any chance?"
Slater slumped in his seat. "Yea. Thanks to them, I've been kicked from the team I was on, and my zoids totalled." His eyes rose to the screen overhead, where Bit and Leena stood talking to Deuce. "I'd do anything to teach them a lesson, particularly that spoilt little bitch, Leena Toros Cloud!"
"Then we have something in common." Slater swung round to stare at the other man. "I too have suffered at the hands of the Blitz. Many times they have humiliated me and my men. Their rise to fame has been built on my losses." The man looked about them. "Maybe we should continue this discussion somewhere else?"
"Sure." Slater stood up before making his way over to one of the side booths. He sat down one side, the other man opposite him. "So, what should I call you?"
The other man paused for a long moment. "You can call me Mr A."
"Mr A?" Slater laughed. "What kind of name is that?"
"I'd advise you not to annoy me Slater…" A's voice was full of menace. "I don't take kindly to being laughed at." Slater stopped laughing. Even he knew a threat when he saw one.
"Now, listen. There are many more like us, who wish to see the Blitz destroyed. They ruined something special, something that could have been the beginning of a new world order…"
"You mean that Hiltz and his Cybrid Legions? No thanks. I saw what he was up too…"
"Not him. Before the Blitz got into Class S."
"But what…" Then the answer popped into Slater's mind. "Wait, you're talking about the Backdraft!"
"Correct. The ZBC has become corrupt and decedent. It no longer works the way it should. Combat is about winning, not having a fair fight! But those who run and support the ZBC can't see this. They have become swayed by their own pathetic dream of an equal world." Mr A spat out the last couple of words.
"The world can never be equal; there will always be those who are weak, and those who are strong; the rich and the poor, the controllers and the controlled. By making every one play the same way, The ZBC has destroyed the natural order of things."
Slater nodded, mainly just to keep the other man talking. How did all this relate to the Blitz and the Backdraft?
"Only a complete replacement of the system can the natural order be restored. But to do that, the ZBC must fall. That was the aim of the Backdraft, to replace the ZBC and restore the natural order of things. But the Blitz tore it apart. Now only scattered fragments remain. The power base of the Backdraft is weak, disorganised. The head was lost, and now what is left is a leaderless shadow of its former self.
"I intend to change that." Now the man sat up straighter and looked Slater in the eye. The light from the bar reached into the hood now, revealing his features…
Slater gasped as he realised who he was talking too. "You're… You're Altiel! The last remaining Backdraft key player!"
"Indeed, now you understand why I need to be careful." Altiel nodded. "And you most likely understand my desire to see the Blitz destroyed."
"Certainly. But why approach me?"
"Simple. You have a reason to hate the Blitz. And I know you yearn for a command of your own. I'm here to lay an offer for you. Join me, and you will become the commander of the entire Backdraft zoid force, reporting to me and me alone. And if everything goes according to plan, I can get you a new zoid worthy of your skills…"
"Like what? A Genosaurer?"
"If you wish, for a start. But I was thinking more along the lines of one of the Blitz teams' zoids. Which of 'their' Ultimate X zoids would you want?"
Slater sucked in his breath, his eye's widening at the though of owning one of those zoids. How could anyone refuse such an offer? To have such power at his fingertips… it was intoxicating just thinking about it!
"Well, either the Berserker Fury, or Leena's new zoid, her Iguan…suon…something." He smiled cruelly at the thought of the look on little Leena's face when he killed her precious husband with her own zoid.
"Of course. I had hoped you would say one of those two. I hope to have one cut apart so we can find out exactly how those zoids get their power. Once we know the secret, we can produce our own Ultimate X zoids. Then nothing will stand in our way!" Altiel grinned along with Slater as they both thought about getting revenge.
"Course, for the next little while we're going to move quietly and gently. The Backdraft is weak and broken at the moment. One strike by the ZBC could shatter it for good. We need time to rebuild, to regain what we lost." Altiel looked Slater in the eye. "So, are you in?"
Slater grinned back. "Of course I'm in. I want to make the Blitz pay for what they have done…"
"Very well…" Altiel raised his glass. "To the Backdraft reborn!"
"To the Backdraft reborn!" Slater echoed.
Off to one side, the barkeep from before heard nearly every word the two of them had spoken. His eye wide with shock, he quickly slipped out the back and made his way to the rear office.
Christian had to know about this. And knowing him, he was not going to be happy…
DR: Ahh, the plot thickens...
Shadow: You'll have to bear with DR today, I think that weekend away has affected his thinking...
Zeke: Yea... anyway, sorry for the late update, and please review!