DR: Hi, sorry about last week. Had an all weekend event to go to...
Zeke: Concert?
DR: Nope, not even close
Zeke: (confused)
DR: Anyway, as a way to repent, here's not one or two, but THREE chapters for you all! Lucky lot ;)
Irvine: Good (puts feet up and grabs big tub of popcorn)
Kaylee: (snuggles up to Simon) Shiny!
Chapter 16: Seeing the Light
It was nearly afternoon before the Blitz returned home, tired and a little sore from their uncomfortable naps, but still ecstatic. Brad and Naomi's child was the centre of all the attention, and Naomi found her face was permanently flushed. Despite the aches in her body and her general feeling of exhaustion, she was still overjoyed at the feeling of at last feeling her daughter in her arms. Brad was also beaming, a smirk of pride twisting his lips. The rest of the team were all agape at the young Hunter.
"She's so cute!" Leena said, her jawing down slightly as she looked upon the sleeping infant in Naomi's arms. Both of them along with Sarah were sat in the ring of couches in the lounge, while the rest of the team got the zoids loaded. Everyone felt saddened that they didn't have much time to bond with their latest teammate, but the demands of the season could not be skimmed. Luckily once the Hover Cargo was underway there would be time to bond again.
Naomi smiled with pride at Leena's words. "She'll make a fine addition to the team…"
"When she's old enough…" Brad put in as he walked through, his smirk still in place. "I wonder if the Blitz will still be going then."
"Course we will!" Bit told him as he followed Brad through. He sat down besides Leena who turned to hug him tightly. For a few seconds the two of them forgot about everyone else in the room as they encircled each other with their arms. As they did so the rest of the team filed through, with the exception of Jamie and Pierce, since both their zoids needed to be secured firmly before the Hover Cargo could move off safely. Almost without thought the team gathered round the new parents, silently celebrating the advent of new life. Janet Hunter, as if aware of the attention she had, chose to wake up at that point, her baby blue eyes wandering across all their faces.
Of all the team, Stroller was the only one who was not totally overjoyed at the prospect of having a newborn child around. When Sarah had moved out of his place to have Vega, he had breathed a sigh of relief. Now though he had no choice. Luckily the Blitz Base was far larger than his small apartment had been, so hopefully he would be able to find a quiet spot when she started crying.
"So, any plans for her to have any brothers or sisters?" Steve asked jokingly.
Brad and Naomi looked at each other. "Haven't really thought about it Doc." Brad answered for both of them. "Been rather more concerned with this one actually." He hugged Naomi's shoulder as he spoke.
Sarah looked meaningfully at Leon, who slowly nodded. "May as well tell them now…" He told her quietly.
"Huh? Tell us what?" Pierce said as she and Jamie stepped through from the hanger. As was now a regular feature, her arm was laid across his shoulders, while his was around her waist. Despite their differing heights, the two of them slotted together perfectly.
"Well…" Sarah begun softly, "…Soon she will have someone her own age to play with."
Pierce's jaw dropped as she realised what Sarah was saying. "You mean… you too?"
Sarah nodded, Leon's arm wrapped around her thin shoulders.
"Hallajh!" Steve cried, stepping back to do a quick spin. The rest of the Blitz looked at him for a long moment, wondering if they would need to lock him in his room again. "I'm going to be grandfather!" Steve continued not noticing or caring about the team's funny looks. He stopped spinning to drop down behind Leon and Sarah before drawing them both into a hug.
From within Naomi's arms, Janet Hunter chortled, her small lips twisting into a smile. Brad looked down at her in amazement. "Well someone likes his antics…"
Leon patted his father's head, trying to get him to ease up a bit. Steve's hug was quite strong, despite his advanced years. "Dad, I'm glad you approve…"
"Approve?" Steve interrupted him, though he did ease off on the hug. "Leon, I'm ecstatic! You've answered another one of my dreams!"
Sarah smiled at Leon's lost look, before turning to look over at Bit and Leena. "What about you two? Any plans yet?"
Leena and Bit sat up straighter, their cheeks both flushing red. "Who said I wanted kids?" Leena stuttered.
"Leena, I heard you after that fight…" Naomi answered her question, mischief in her eyes. Leena flushed even redder than before.
"I didn't mean right away! Besides, we can't really afford for me to pull out. Without me and my zoid, what would you do?" It was true; the Iguanosaur had been a key component of most of their battles since the siege.
"I'm sure we could adapt…" Jamie started, before trailing off as he saw everyone looking at him. "What?"
"Oh no!" Pierce said, backing away slightly as she raised both hands. "It's a bit early to be thinking about that!"
Brad looked at Naomi, another smirk on his face. "I wouldn't say that…"
x x x x x x
Early next morning the Hover Cargo pulled into position on the battlefield. Hovering across the basin was the Sun Ray's brilliantly painted Whale King, just above both the Helidgunners. The lower hatches of the huge aerial zoid were already opening up, and on the racks that were lowered into place were the six zoids that the Blitz had faced before.
"Welcome back Blitz team." The Salamanders pilot called as the Hover Cargo opened up its upper hatch to deploy the team's zoids. "And may I be the first to say congratulations to the Hunters."
Steve frowned. "How'd you know?"
The other man chuckled. "It's well known that Naomi was pregnant. And I follow the news grids closely. What'd you get?"
Naomi leaned forward to answer. "A daughter."
The pilot whistled. "Well then, I expect she must really be something then."
Naomi smiled fondly as she looked down at her sleeping child, tucked into the crook of her arm. "She is."
"I know how you feel. I remember when my own daughter…"
"DAD!" The young girlish voice yelled across the net, coming from the Whale King. A stuttering of laughter echoed across the net after her cry.
"Honey, you'd best stop with the reminiscing. I think its embarrassing Karla." An older woman's voice replaced the young girl.
"Sorry sweetheart. Okay, release us."
As one all six flying zoids were released from their cradles, free-falling for a second before engaging their engines and swooping down to hover above the two Heldigunners. The Sun Ray's transport, its job done, backed away from the field. Now out of the shadow of the Whale King, all the zoids on the team shone in the light, their brilliant finishes and mirrored panels gleaming.
Bit narrowed his eyes, trying to avoid being dazzled. "Damn, I'd forgotten about this little trick of theirs."
x x x x x x
Almost an hour later, the Sun Ray's Salamander zoid thudded into the dirt, smoke rising from a string of laser hits along its back. Hovering overhead was Pierce's Storm Sworder, missing a wing tip and one foot.
"The battle is over! The battle is over!" The Judge intoned. "The winner is… the Blitz Team!"
With an exhausted sigh, Pierce allowed her zoid to glide back towards the Hover Cargo. That had certainly been one of the longest aerial duels she had ever undertaken.
The Blitz had learned from their previous fight with the Sun Ray's, and with an almost equal number of zoids, the fight was far fairer. Pierce had singled out one of the Storm Sworders as her target, while Jamie went after the opposing Raynos, which had been the one to put him down before. The rest of the team had fended off the Pteras bombers and Heldigunners. Brad had even nailed one Pteras. But the Salamander had been tough enough to simply bulldoze right through their fire and hit the Blitz hard. Leon had been the first taken out, a barrage of cannon fire knocking him for six.
One Heidigunner had tried to take out the Liger Zero with a swipe from its tail blades. The Liger had leapt backwards to evade, before using its oversized boosters to race up a cliff. Stroller had taken a few hits from the second one's guns, but the Elephander was capable of taking many such hits. While the Fury practically went subterranean itself chasing the offending zoid, Stroller continued to keep the other flyers at bay.
Brad managed to cripple the remaining Storm Sworder with his laser, but then the Salamander came in again, its cannons blazing. The Fox was knocked out of the fight, while Stroller took heavy damage from a volley of missiles fired by the gigantic flyer. Pierce, seeing this after downing her foe, had leapt upon the larger zoid.
One Heldigunner tried to take advantage of Strollers weakened position, but he underestimated both Strollers and the Elephanders abilities. As the smaller zoid surfaced, the trunk lashed out and latched onto it. The Heldigunner was quickly taken out when impaled on the Elephanders tusks.
Jamie put his Raynos through every extreme measure he knew, and it was just enough to shake off the other pilot. Both knew how to handle their zoids, and neither quit. They had at last gone head to head, the most dangerous manoeuvre in aerial combat. Both zoids had barely missed each other as they rocketed past the other. Jamie had emerged as the winner, but only just. The Raynos trailed smoke, and the handling was impaired. While the other Raynos nose-dived for the ground below, Jamie was preparing to leave the battle. The Salamander, having lost Pierce for a second, had other ideas and put a missile up his tail. Jamie was quickly following the other Raynos downwards.
Vega and the Fury quickly took out the second Heldigunner when they finally caught it, but then struggled to hit the remaining two Pteras bombers. Roaring in frustration, the Fury had unleashed its plasma beam right in their path. One pilot managed to evade, but the other only half made it. One wing was sliced clean off and the Pteras quickly rolled over and fell from the sky.
Bit and the Liger were getting frustrated too, as the remaining Storm Sworder, while damaged, was still capable of exceeding the speed of the Jaeger. After nearly being bowled over by a sonic wake, Bit had a sudden crazy idea. On the next approach of the Sworder, Bit had Stroller pick up the Liger in the Elephanders trunk and throw him after the flyer. Engaging the ion boosters allowed Bit to catch up with the sliver zoid. He knew had he'd never connect with the laser claws, but no zoid could outrun a bullet.
Even as the Liger Zero began to fall back to earth, Bit fired the cheek 30mm guns. The small calibre rounds punched through the weakened armour, and the Sworder had belly flopped down. But Bit and Liger didn't celebrate, since they too were heading for the ground, and at high speed. Liger managed to soften the landing, but the shock was enough to trigger the command system.
While Vega and Stroller had tried to box in the last Pteras, Pierce had her plate full with the Salamander. She had always wondered what it would be like to engage one of these aerial titans, and now she realised just how naïve she had been. With its heavy armour and multiple weapons, the Salamander was very tough. The Sun Ray's had also re-mounted some of the weapons into turrets, allowing much larger fields of fire. Pierce lost count of the number of times she had to break off an attack run to evade return fire. It had been too close a couple of times, as one lance of laser bolts tore apart the ankle joint of her zoids right leg, while a laser blade had taken away her left wingtip.
But at last, after almost fifty minutes of duelling way beyond the range of Vega and Stroller, she had found a chink in the Salamanders armour, and had pounded it mercilessly. Her lasers had stabbed again and again into the larger zoids back, before at last the armour had given way and the Salamander lost power. She had paced it the whole way to the end, making sure that it was not playing possum. But the Judge's ruling confirmed it.
Ahead she could see Jamie's Raynos already being drawn within the Hover Cargo, while besides the huge transport she could see the other zoids. The Liger Zero was back on his feet, though he looked a little unsteady. Pierce leaned back as she set the zoid down. She felt weary to her bones, and all she wanted was to fall in bed and sleep.
'Okay, maybe not "sleep"… at least not at first…' A blush rose on her cheeks as she saw Jamie walking towards her zoid. Despite his rough landing he looked fine, for which Pierce was very glad to see.
x x x x x x
Altiel smirked as he looked out over the newly built underground hanger at his newly refurbished Backdraft base. Hidden at the end of a canyon, you had to know it was there to even have a hope of finding it. And any unwanted guests would quickly be dealt with by the array of hidden gun nests along the canyon walls.
His smirk faded to a frown as he gazed upon the contents of the bay however. 'Is this what the mighty Backdraft has been reduced too?' He thought as he swept his gaze over the decrepit zoids below.
The most powerful of them all was the aging Zaber Fang, which had fought in the last war between the Republic and the Empire. Even at this distance, Altiel could see the rust that crept along the edges of the armour panels, the sorry looking gyro caps. The zoids head hung, as if it didn't have the strength to stand up straight. The zoid was old.
After that things got worse. The ZBC had been very effective at rounding up nearly all the Backdraft's assets. Most of the zoids taken as prizes from defeated teams had been recovered, and nearly all their best teams had been locked away. Only the Fuma team was still outside of jail, but even then they were not truly free. So now all the Backdraft had to call upon were a few Moglas, drone Zabats and Demietis, a half-dozen Rev Raptors, a couple of Guysacks, some Sinkers and Road Skippers. Plus a handful of armed Gustavs.
He sighed as he considered the current situation he was in. Even with lacklustre equipment, an ace pilot could do wonders. Fuma, Stroller, Pierce, Vega… they had all been capable of bringing everything out of their zoids, and could work wonders even with such sorry zoids. But the regular pilots hadn't a clue. Their only use was as cannon fodder, just like their zoids.
He snarled again as he considered the fates of each one of those pilots. Pierce, Stroller and Vega had all defected to the Blitz Team, the Backdraft's greatest rivals. If it hadn't been for them, then the Backdraft would be supreme, ruling the world instead of cowering here in this old complex. He knew that he was going to take great pleasure in destroying them.
As for Fuma herself… He still could not believe it. Despite the heavy guard around her and her former teammates, his agents had managed to contact them all. His offer: serve him as the new leader of the Backdraft, and he would not only bust them out, but also get them their old War Sharks back.
While a couple of them had said yes, Fuma herself had been adamant in her rejection. Fuma wanted to return to 'normal' society, to help care for her mother. Apparently shortly before the Royal Cup she had fallen ill, and now needed constant care. Fuma was not going to abandon her now.
Altiel sighed again. He knew exactly how Committee Member Fuma had fallen ill; it had been his agent who had slipped the poison into her water supply at the Backdraft main base. Shortly after the Royal Cup, the poison would have built up to lethal levels and she would have died. And with her death, the route would have been clear for him to rise up. Sarah would have been a problem, but he had been planning how to take care of her when everything had gone to hell.
"Something wrong A?" Altiel turned to face Slater, the man from the Helic Republic who hated the Blitz almost as much as he did. Now in charge of all the zoids in the Backdrafts possession, he wielded a lot of power. He stood tall, never showing the knee to Altiel like all the others. It was annoying, but Altiel put up with it, since Slater was an expert at dealing with the rebellious warriors and organising their zoids. And right now, he was their best pilot.
"Just thinking about the past." Altiel nodded towards the data packet Slater was holding. "Something for me?"
Slater shrugged as he held the packet out. "The latest reports from all your operatives." As he took the packet, Altiel noted that the seal was still intact. Slater was curious, but he would never breach the chain of command and look at the contents himself unless invited to by Altiel.
Ripping off the cover, Alitel skimmed through the reports. Mostly they were depressing. Most of the splinter groups and gangs that before had worked with the Backdraft were now not interested in any form of a deal. ZBC Storehouses and depots still had tight security, preventing any form of theft…
Then he came to the last three reports. To Slater watching, Altiel's face went through a range of expressions. The first was one of a kid seeing a huge candy store ahead with a bugling wallet in his pocket. The second was of stunned shock, with a hint of horror and wonder. On the last report, his face twisted into a grin of pure malice and evil intent.
"I take it those three are worth the wait?" Slater asked his curiosity piqued.
"Indeed." Altiel sat down, still grinning. "It seems the Empire is sending a brand new Genosaurer to a training facility. It will be only lightly guarded." Slater's eyes widened as he realised the possibilities. He had not forgotten Altiel's promise to get him a Genosaurer.
"The second is a report from one of our salvage teams." Since they had rebuilt the Backdraft, they had sent out teams to salvage any zoids or zoid parts they found from old battle sites. "It seems they had found a hidden storehouse."
"Containing what zoids?"
"No zoids. Cybrids."
Slater's eyes shot open at that word. He too had seen the terrible aftermath of the Cybrids short but deadly reign of terror on Zi. He had not actually fought them, but he had heard tales from those who had…
"It seems this set are shut down, inactive. One fool even hit one with a shovel. No reaction." Now Slater grinned. He understood the implied meaning behind Altiel's words.
"And lastly, it seems that early yesterday morning, Naomi Hunter of the Blitz Team gave birth to her and Brad Hunters daughter…"
DR: Bad news os on the horizon...
Mal: (says something in Chinese to the say effect)
DR: Don't go away, we've got two more chapters to go!
Zeke: Hold on one sec... (runs out of room)
Jayne: Hey,free grub! (grabs Zeke's Malteasers)
Leon: Bad idea...