DR: you know, I'm struggling to think of something to say here...
Shadow: That's cuase you're still thinking about that 'Firefly'...
Zeke: A firefly! Where? (Starts running around)
Shadow: Not that kind of firefly idiot!
Chapter 10: Matters of the Heart
"So Pierce, you never told me about that other man you're seeing. Come on, what's he like?"
Pierce looked up at Rico's question, slightly startled. They were again sitting in the small bar that Rico had taken her too before. Pierce had not been impressed the first time there, and this visit, their fourth, was not any better. And yet again he had forced her to ride with him, not showing up till it was almost their booked time.
"What's there to tell?" She replied, stalling for time.
"How about whether you really are going out with him or not?"
"Well, we…" Pierce gulped, trying to think of a way around this. "We've not yet been on a date, as such…"
"So you're not going out with him."
"Well, yes I suppose…" Pierce shook her head. Rico had done this before, steering the conversation around to her. He deflected any questions he asked, and as of yet he had not even mentioned how he had gotten hold of a Storm Sworder.
"So why are you hung up about him them?"
"We both… feel an attachment." 'Is that all I think of Jamie now, an "attachment"?'
Rico looked genuinely confused. "But, how can you have an 'attachment' when you've never gone out together?"
Pierce sighed. "We work together…"
Rico sat back, looking thoughtful. "Well, that narrows it down to the Blitz Team then. You having any of the newly wedded men behind their wives backs?"
"NO! How dare you even suggest that!" Pierce sat bolt upright in her seat, her eyes narrowed.
"Well, that leaves just the old Doc, Stroller, or one of the two boy's, Vega and… oh I forget his name." Slowly a smirk spread across his face. "You banging that mystery man Stroller? Did you use to, when you were both at the Backdraft?"
"No, I didn't! And just for your information, it's not Stroller."
"But then that leaves either a man old enough to be your father, or…" Something in her face must have given her away. "Which is it; Vega or that other one…"
Pierce's head dropped forwards. "Jamie."
"Man Pierce, isn't he a little young for you? He's what, fifteen, sixteen?"
"Actually, he turned eighteen a week ago."
Rico's face twisted into a scowl. "He's the pilot of the Raynos, and used to pilot a Pteras? Short kid with black hair, looks permanently lost?"
Pierce glanced back up at him. "Hey, he's my friend!"
"Man, what do you see in such a short little squirt? He's way shorter than you, and his 'skills'… laughable!" He broke into a short laugh. "Worse pilot I've seen in years. A wounded bird could out fly him!"
"He's much better than he used to be!"
"Ha! That's simply because he's got a Raynos. Classic case of the zoid making up for non-existent piloting skill in its pilot. Put another pilot, a real pilot, in an opposing Raynos, and he'll be torn to shreds in seconds."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Pierce sat back in shock. "You're attacking my best friend in the team!"
"Well, you have to admit, he is the most pathetic one on it. With the possible exception of that lady pilot who got herself knocked up. That must have been funny…"
Pierce shot up, her face red with anger. "Take me home, right now!"
"Hey, we don't leave until I say we do!" Rico countered hotly. Other diners were now looking at them, the clearly angry female with her exotic hair, against the roguishly handsome man.
"Oh really?" Pierce said quietly, before she reached out suddenly. Before he could react, she had snatched the keys to his bike from his pocket.
"Hey, give those back!" He lunged after her, but she danced back out of his reach.
"I'm going home now. You can either stay here, or keep your ride and take me home."
'Oh how I would love to "take you", right here, right now…' But Rico managed to keep such thoughts from his face. "Fine, we'll go."
Together the two of them walked out of the bar, neither looking at the other. As they had before, Pierce sat behind Rico, as far back as she could. She hooked her fingers into his belt, unwilling to put her arms around him. 'Bloody typical that his bike has no handholds for someone catching a ride…'
x x x x x x
Back at the Blitz base, Pierce heaved a sigh of relief as she swung off Rico's bike. During the ride back, she had been thinking hard. Going out with Rico had not helped her sort out the mess in her head at all. In fact, he complicated everything.
But when he began to insult Jamie, Pierce realised that he was not the sort she was interested in. She was still not sure about her feelings towards Jamie, but one thing for sure was that she had to face them with him, not alone.
As she stepped away, Rico reached out and clashed her elbow. "Look Pierce, I'm sorry about earlier. Guess the thought that you'd be interested in a much younger man than yourself kind of threw me off." He managed to look sorry too. "Can I make it up somehow?"
Pierce shook her head sadly. "I don't think so Rico." She gently pulled her arm free.
"Please?"
She couldn't resist that pleading look. "All right, what did you have in mind?"
'Yes, got her…' "Let me treat you to one more dinner out…"
Pierce was too tired to argue. "Okay, fine." And with that she turned away and headed into the base. Behind her, Rico sat back on his bike, a broad and dark grin on his face.
Mindful of the late hour, Pierce tried to make as little noise as possible as she walked inside. She didn't want to wake anyone…
"You're early tonight." Stroller's voice came out of the room to her left, as did the light of the lamp he switched on suddenly. Looking towards his voice, Pierce was just able to make him out against the glare. As her eyes adjusted, she was able to see that he was frowning, and the corners of his mouth were turned down. His grey eyes seemed to pin her to the spot.
"Stig, what are you doing up so late?"
"I could ask you the same little lady." Pierce bristled at his use of her nickname. She had gained that at the Backdraft, since when she had first joined she had been short. But about sixteen she had suddenly began to grow taller, till she reached her present height of five foot eleven. In the world of zoid piloting, where the average height was closer to the five foot eight mark, she had towered over many of the other pilots. But her nickname had stuck, the others way of teasing her about it.
"But instead, I'll ask what you are doing Pierce? Jamie not enough for you?"
"Look, he called me first! And besides, you're not my father! I can do what I like thank you very much!"
Stroller leaned back, his eyes narrowed. "What's gotten into you Pierce? Lately you've been acting odd. Everyone's noticed it."
"I'm fine." Stroller's expression didn't change. "Really, I am."
"Then why are you so jumpy? You've been snappy with everyone in the team. Sneaking out late to head off with that 'Old Friend' of yours…"
"Just what are you implying?" Pierce had heard the undertones in Stroller's voice.
"Lets just say I don't like the look of him."
Pierce looked at him in shock. What was he saying?
"Look Pierce, after our little talk before the others got back, I thought you and Jamie were pretty settled. Now, I have to wonder just whether you meant what you said. You need to ask yourself, just why are you seeing that man?"
"None of your business!" Pierce snarled before she turned away and raced up the stairs. Behind her, Stroller sighed deeply as he listened to her footsteps. 'This helping others thing is tougher than I thought…'
Upstairs, Pierce threw herself onto her bed, and unable to hold back anymore, cried into her pillow.
x x x x x x
The next day the team headed out to do battle with the Supernova Team, a team that specialised in the use of highly accurate laser fire. Their long ranged blasts could cripple other zoids with ease, and when coupled with the advanced tracking systems they had installed, it was like facing a team of snipers.
Jamie and Pierce were deployed to strafe the other team, while Brad, Leon, Bit, Leena and Vega would try to close in. Like any force that specialised on one aspect of combat, the Supernova team had a major weakness. In their case, it was close ranged fighting. The problem was getting close enough.
As they prepared to launch, Jamie noticed that Pierce seemed distracted, her eye's red. She hadn't been engaging with the rest of the team like she normally did. Even the little liger was excluded. Something was seriously wrong with her, even he could see that.
"Pierce, what's wrong?" He asked, concern in his eyes.
"Nothing…" She half-muttered in reply, not even looking at him. Before he could probe further she had climbed into her zoid. Sighing with frustration, Jamie followed her example.
On the field the team assembled. Leena stood in the centre, her weapons armed. Her role according to Jamie was to provide covering fire for the others, a role she and the Iguanosaur were well suited for. Everyone else would head for the other team at full speed. Bit had mobilised the Jaeger armour, while Vega had elected to use the Fury's Storm Unit. Brad and Leon were going to try and flank the other team.
Across the barren plain the other teams zoids stood. Each one had been heavily customised. To the rear was a row of four Dibisons, and these showed the most change. The set of nine back cannons had been replaced by four long ranged lasers, while the side sets of guns had been replaced by half as many medium ranged pulse lasers. Each one of them could throw out a curtain of laser fire.
Six Guysacks stood before the heavier zoids as a screen. They looked pretty standard, except the tail guns appeared to have been upgraded. Splitting the scorpion zoids was a Command Wolf, the back guns again replaced with pulsed lasers.
As they waited for the judge, Leena was already planning her fire. Normally in the past she would not have bothered, but with all her recent experiences and changes it actually made sense to her. 'One missile barrage per Bison, while I walk the cannon fire across those Guysacks…'
The Judge landed at that moment, and it quickly started the battle. "The Blitz Team Vs the Supernova Team, battle mode 0872. Ready… FIGHT!"
Leena triggered her missiles, the salvos of powerful warheads rocketing forwards, overtaking the rest of the Blitz teams zoids as they powered forward. The Dibisons were already firing their back lasers, filling the air with super dense bolts of coherent light. The Guysacks fired their tail weapons too, but much slower than normal. Clearly the Supernova's had exchanged rate of fire for range and hitting power.
With a roar, the Liger Zero engaged the Jaeger armour, the oversized ion boosters on its back blasting forth a missive plume of thrust each. Not to be outdone, the Fury also engaged its boosters, the huge Storm Unit's engines rocketing the zoid forwards. The missile salvos rocked the Dibisons, while the Guysacks dived under the sand to evade the curtain of shells Leena had unleashed. The Command Wolf charged forwards, its lasers already angling upwards to fend off Jamie and Pierce.
Across the field, one of the Dibison pilots tried to acquire the Shadow Fox. He frowned as the targeting system was struggled to lock on. He swept his targeting sights across the running Fox, but there was nothing. He triggered his lasers, each of the four extended range lasers firing in sequence.
Brad smiled as none of the bolts came close. Dr Layon's first development of a transparent lacquer that absorbed radar, rendering the Fox invisible to sensors at anything but point blank range, was working well. He had been warned though that any hits would remove the lacquer, ensuring more hits.
The Guysacks came up, and began to fire again. Despite nothing hitting the team, the Blitz was struggling to stay ahead of the rain of lasers. One bison zeroed in on Leon, when suddenly a pair of missiles hit its side. As the heavy zoid tottered and fell, Pierce streaked overhead.
But even as a barrage from Leena knocked a second Dibison off its feet, the Wolf had pivoted around and put a curtain of laser fire across the Storm Sworders nose. Pierce failed to react in time, and the silver flying zoid flew right through. Smoke streaming from one of the upper engines, the zoid arched down to the ground, out of the fight.
With two of the Dibisons removed, the hail of fire was dramatically cut, and the Blitz could push forwards better. Jamie strafed the Guysacks at full speed, knocking a couple reeling. As Leena fired again, those two failed to react in time and were cut apart by her main weapons.
The remaining two Dibisons opened up with their side lasers now, and for the Blitz it was like a wall of laser fire came at them. There was just too much to evade, and both Bit and Vega took several hits. However neither pilot gave up and they pushed on harder.
Leon and Brad were close enough now to fire back, and they quickly opened up on the Guysacks. Leon's target escaped since the Ligers lasers could not be brought down enough to track, but the Shadow Fox had no such problem and the Guysack was quickly knocked out.
One of the Dibison pilots, seeing Bit and Vega slowed, fired a brace of bolts towards Leena, who so far had not been targeted. The Iguanosaur may have been a larger target, but it was fast on its feet, far faster than people would have thought. Only one bolt hit and punched right through the armour over the right thigh. The others missed, but only barely. In response, Leena unleashed her missiles again. Jamie tried to combine his attack with hers, but the Wolf put up AA fire, driving him off.
Despite that, one Dibison was knocked off its feet, while the other had to brace itself to remain standing. Bit and Vega, seeing their chance, charged forwards, as did Leon. Brad carved a second Guysack apart, smirking as he did so. 'Their so fixated on Bit and Vega that they don't realise the rest of us are here until we strike.'
The Dibisons tried to reacquire the charging Liger Zero and Fury, but they were closing too fast. Bit leapt high into the air before coming down on the Command Wolf, who had been concentrating on holding off Jamie so much that he had failed to see the closing Liger. "Strike Laser Claw!" He yelled as the Liger carved into the smaller zoid.
Vega grinned as the Fury kicked up before ploughing feet first into the less damaged Dibison. Having almost a hundred and thirty tons of pure zoid aggression slam into you at over four hundred kilometres per hour is not healthy for anything, as the Dibison found out the hard way. The impact alone was enough to knock the zoid for six.
Leon pounced on one Guysack, almost flattening the smaller zoid, before diving at the second. It tried to escape under the sand, but Leon deployed his laser blades and used a short kick from the Liger to spin through the air. The laser blade cut through the sand as easily as the Guysack.
Vega looked left and saw the last Dibison lining up a shot, but then Jamie dived in from above, every weapon blazing. The weakened zoid couldn't withstand the barrage, and it slumped down.
"The battle is over! The battle is over! The winner is… the Blitz team!"
x x x x x x
As the Hover Cargo rumbled home late that night, Sarah walked into the upper observation deck. Stroller had told her about the talk he had had with Pierce the previous night, and she was determined to sort the young flyer out. And when Sarah Obscura Toros wanted something, very little could stop her.
As she had expected, Sarah found Pierce stood there, staring out over the plains. Without a word, she stepped up besides the other woman, looking out across the world.
"Save it Sarah, I've already had the lecture from Stig."
Sarah turned to look at Pierce, noting the tears on the younger woman's face. "I'm not here to lecture you. I want to help." As Pierce began to turn away, Sarah continued. "Running away is not going to make things any easier you know. In fact, it could make things worse."
Pierce stopped her motion, but did not turn back.
"I don't understand you right now Pierce. It was clear to everyone after that siege that you and Jamie cared deeply for each other. I've seen the look in his eyes when he looks at you. The lad adores you. What do you think he would think of your actions right now?"
"I don't know what to think anymore…" Pierce replied in half whisper.
Sarah reach out and rested her hand on Pierce's shoulder. Slowly she turned her back to face her. "Care to talk about it?"
Pierce at last met Sarah eyes, tears streaming from her own. "It's just…" she began, but she trailed off.
"Just what?" Sarah asked gently.
Pierce's head hung. "…I love him, but I love him for what he is now!" Her admission was punctuated by a sob. "Part of me can't bear the thought of losing that part of him I love, but I know that it will if we get any closer!" Her voice quietened. "Part of me thinks I shouldn't be thinking about him that way anyway, since he's…"
"Six years your junior?" Sarah sadly smiled. "Pierce, your listening to your head and convection. What does your heart say?" Pierce looked up at her then, shock in her eyes. Pierce had never known Sarah to speak like this.
"I want him…"
"Then why don't you see how he reacts? You never know, he might surprise you…"
Moonbay: So sad...
River: A moth circles the flame, but she need not fear...
DR: (starts) River! What the hell are you doing here?
River: (looks spookily at DR) Do you? (walks away silently)
Irvine: That girls... weird...
DR: Yea, but you should have seen her a few months ago... anyway, next time things are going to come to a head...
Moonbay: Oh the tension!
DR: (sighs) Please review people.