DR: And now chapter number three. Things are turning much darker from here on.

Shadow: How dark?

DR: Hmm, not sure. It's not quite as dark as when Hlitz was running around in the Death Stinger, but it is pretty close...

Mal: Who? What?

Chapter 18: Hunters Moon

As she brought her Snipe Master to a halt in line with the other zoids on the team, Naomi found herself breathing rapidly. There across the barren plain stood the zoids of the Juggernaut Team, their black forms hard against the horizon. Her throat felt as dry as the loose soil on which her zoid stood. Naomi began to move her hand down to rub it dry on her thigh, but then stopped as she recalled that she had put her 'battle uniform' on. Until she had not been able to due to her pregnancy, she had worn her casual clothes nearly all the time. The red and black long-tailed shirt combined with those black pants felt comfortable on her.

The main reason she didn't wear those clothes while piloting her zoid was because she didn't what to get them marked, but there was another reason. Early on in her career she had very little money to her name, and so she had been forced to wear the same clothes all the time. The day when she won her first match nearly all her clothes were in the wash, so she had been forced to just throw on her boots, a battered tank top and get going. She had figured that since her opponents would only see her upper body if they called, it wouldn't matter if she weren't wearing pants.

Since then, it had almost become standard for her to not wear pants into battle, since it seemed to bring her luck, and over time she had grown comfortable walking around in little more than a swimsuit. But at times, like now, she wished she had worn a pair.

With a bleep, a comm window appeared to her left, revealing Brad's smiling face. "Na', you've got to ease up. I can see how nervous you are by the way your zoids standing."

Naomi flushed. "I can't help it. It's been so long…"

"You'll do fine." Brad told her before he signed off.

As the Judge capsule shot from the skies, Naomi tired to take several slow, deep breathes. 'Okay, now get a grip on yourself. It's just like the practice run from the other day. Nothing to worry about…' Never the less, a hard knot of worry remained in her gut.

In the background she could hear the usual pre-match banter going on between Bit, Leena and the Juggernauts team leader. The confident tones of her team-mates steadied Naomi's nerves, and she gripped the controls firmly, once more with confidence.

"The Blitz Team Vs the Juggernaut Team, battlemode 0982." The Judges mechanical voice silenced the others. "Ready… Fight!"

With a combined roar the Liger Zero and the Fury broke into a run, while Jamie and Pierce, both who had been holding their zoids tensed up, unleashed hellfire from their boosters and blasted towards the skies. On the far side of the team Leon pushed forwards, while Brad paced Naomi as she sprinted for a rocky spire on the left flank. Naomi knew that it wasn't simply a case of Brad wishing to stay with his wife; ever since the Fox became invisible to zoid sensors, Jamie had been looking at extra ways to use this advantage. One interesting fact was that if the Fox was directly between one zoid and another, completely blocking line of sight, then that zoid was hidden too. With their current team line up, it only really worked with her small Snipe Master, but it was perfect for Naomi. With Brad screening her from the other team's view, she could slip into position without them even noticing.

Naomi was just reaching her spot when she saw the effects of Leena's opening barrage. While she had had nothing but contempt for the way Leena used her old Gunsniper, Naomi had to admit that her new Iguanosaur was truly a powerful foe. It fitted Leena perfectly, from its gentle calming nature to the tips of its many cannons.

Her rounds tore apart the ground before the Shield Liger, far too close for the other pilot to respond in time. Naomi smirked as she watched the Liger stumble over the rough ground, the crumbly edges of new craters providing very poor support. Both the Dibisons turned away, but in wide arcs. A swarm of missiles cashed after them as both the Liger Zero and Fury closed in on the Zaber Fangs that were just coming up to the Shield Liger.

Further ahead, Naomi could see both Jamie and Pierce were strafing the Dark Horns, disrupting their fire patterns. The Gojulas remained locked in place, the heavy stabilisers on its ankles keeping the massive beast upright as it unleashed an inferno towards the Blitz.

'Okay big guy, let's see you do that without your fancy toys…' Naomi lined up her shot before gently squeezing the trigger. The sniper rifle spoke, the hyper-velocity round screaming across the plain to smash right into the ankle joint of the Gojulas. The force of the impact shattered the gyro cap, while the round itself careened upwards under the armour to tear about inside the added stabiliser. Even as smoke began to leak from within the added part, Naomi began to fire again, each shot reaching out to strike cap after cap, taking the joints of the Gojulas out one by one.

The Gojulas fired another volley, but the right leg was not up to withstanding the massive recoil. The entire zoid spun around, sending its fire wide. Even at that distance, Naomi thought she could hear the scream of tortured metal as the leg sheared itself apart. Like an unsteady tower of bricks, the Gojulas wavered before slowing falling over to crash down into the soft ground.

Down on the plains below Naomi could see Brad's zoid clawing all other one of the Dibisons, while Leon was snapping at the heals of the second. Bit and Vega had bypassed the Shield Liger, leaving him to Leena's tender mercies, and had homed in on the Zabers. Seeing the black liger struggle to rise, Naomi put a shot into its right foreleg, smashing deep into the zoids shoulder joint. Suddenly the leg ceased to work.

Nodding, Naomi swung her sights back towards the Dark Horns, who had their hands full holding of the Blitz's aerial duo. But pilots seem to simultaneously push and reassure each other on. Those two were made for each other.

Naomi's first shot snapped of a gatling rifle, while her next crippled a leg. As she watched both pilots swoop in on the lame Dark Horn, she glanced back towards the others. While Bit and Vega were just finishing off their foes, she could see that Leon and Leena had theirs down. Brad however seemed to have run into a bit of trouble, as the Fox lay on its side, one set of legs cut of at the mid joint. Cursing quietly to herself, Naomi swung her weapon around and fired several shots into the Dibison. The zoid made it only a couple of steps from Brad before her rounds struck, causing the zoid to stiffen and collapse.

"The battle is over! The battle is over! The winner is… the Blitz team!"

x x x x x x

Derek smiled as he flicked off the screen. He leaned back as he thought about the Blitz, and the waves they were making without realising it.

Looking back, he had to wonder how he had maintained his enthusiasm in zoid battle before the Blitz came along. Before them all the teams knew each other, and everyone had settled into routines. While each battle was fought just as hard as before, the spark had been lost.

In the past, that spark was rekindled when a new team entered Class S via winning the Royal Cup. The 'normal' way to reach the class was so hard that only one man had ever done so. For almost any team it was near impossible. But over the last few years those new teams tended to either fall out of Class S within six months due to continuous losses, or be absorbed within older, more experienced teams. Certainly the change from fighting with three-to-four zoids in regimented matches to the Class S norm of seven-to-nine zoid battles, and a much looser view of the rules, was quite a culture shock.

So as a result for year after year the same teams would circle each other, and generally their ranking would remain about the same. Each one would experience both good and bad lucky streaks, but overall the ranking in Class S remained the same.

Then the Blitz came in. Derek had been watching the Class B battles that fateful day when Bit joined simply by chance. Something in the cocky blond man had caught his eye, and ever since Derek had been watching him. Just like his forefather did.

The Blitz's rise to fame had been meteoric. Within a year they had risen a rank, something practically unheard of before. They took on and beat many teams and warriors that had had a long-standing reputation for being unbeaten, like Naomi Fluegel. And then they seemed to always be right where the Backdraft was, and each time they ruined that shadowy organisations plans.

Derek remembered the scuttlebutt and rumours that had circled around the team leaders events during the few months before the Royal Cup. Nearly everyone had heard of this team that had come out of nowhere and were tearing apart the field. And while it was expected that they would get into Class S, the prediction was that they would be out within three months.

At the time, Derek had kept his thoughts to himself. While logically he agreed with the others, his gut was telling him otherwise. He didn't know exactly why his gut differed, but he knew that he had to listen. Christian had grilled him enough about not following one's own gut instinct.

At first, the others looked like they would be right. That first month in Class S had been hard on the new team. The basic flaw in their battles had been, apart from being under strength compared to everyone else, was that they fought as a team of individuals, not the closely knit group like the others.

Then they had brought in a set of warriors that made even the most grizzled Class S veteran pause. Pierce, Stroller and Vega Obscura. Those three had been aces in their own right. Suddenly, when they joined and brought their own zoids in, along with Naomi and Leon, the Blitz became a serious and worthy foe. The other teams were stirred from their apathy and began to take note once more.

And now… the team was even stronger. Leena's new zoid dominated every battle it was in, and not just because of its size. And the new bonds between the team members bound them together in way that very few other teams could understand. Generally the partners of other warriors were support staff, not pilots. It was a rare thing for both members of a married couple to be warriors, since it played hell with raising a family, as the Blitz had found.

For the first time in a long while, Class S teams had to rethink their tactics, team selections and weapon options. The range of movement within the ranking system was vastly increased, with the Blitz pushing onwards and upwards. And to Derek, that could only be a good thing. The memory of the 'Apaches' and the 'Rampagers' teams destruction was not lost on any of them. The teams within Class S had become lax, inattentive and lazy. The Blitz team provided quite a serious wake up call to them all.

And now Naomi was back. Derek smiled again as he recalled the faces of the expectant parents. He knew in his gut that despite how crazy the team members looked from the outside, any child raised within that tightly knit family would be loved, doted on and would learn a great many things from them all.

x x x x x x

Far away across Zi in the dark woods of Nyx, Homeland of the Guylos Empire, the moon was high and full in a clear sky. Slater, sitting in the cockpit of the Backdrafts ancient Zaber Fang, smirked as he recalled an old saying about such a night.

'They used to call that 'Hunters Moon'. Well, tonight we're the hunters…' He looked again at his tactical display, noting the location of all the units under his command. The Moglas were as close to the route of the convoy as they could get, hidden underneath the brush on one flank. The other was blocked by a sheer cliff. The Rev Raptors and Demantis units would block off their escape routes ahead and behind. Slater had himself positioned on the cliff top above the convoy, along with the Guysacks. Lastly, the Sinkers were positioned behind the Moglas, in position to cut off anything that tries to escape.

It was a solid plan, but Slater still had his doubts. He was forced to use the second rate units the Backdraft had in its possession. And given the nature of the cargo the Imperial convoy was hauling, he doubted that they would be escorted by rookies. Still, the prize was worth it.

A click came over the comm, the signal from his forward Roadskipper scout. The convoy was here. Slater sent a double click back, which was also the signal for the Gustavs to get ready. On his signal, they would push a set of boulders over the edge, blocking the convoy's path.

Slowly but surely the convoy rumbled on. Three Gustavs comprised the convoy. Two were hauling a set of four simple shipping crates, while the central one held the real prize. The trailer was one of the larger enclosed types, completely hiding what was within. But despite the labelling on the sides proclaiming 'Imperial Force Rations', Slater knew what was really being carried.

Pacing along the flanks of the convoy were eight Rev Raptors, four each side. And ambling ahead of them all, a Shield Liger. Slater frowned at the sight of the distinctive white zoid. Liger type zoids were, nominally, republican. Shrugging to himself, he gripped his controls a little tighter as he waited for the right moment…

x x x x x x

Lieutenant Travis sighed as the convoy began the final leg of its trip. It had been a long day, with very little going on but requiring constant attention. Due to the destructive power of the Genosaurer, both the Empire and the Republic had a vested interest in keeping track of them all. As such, any new unit always had an escort from both sides when delivered.

Right now though the only thing on Travis's mind was getting to the training base and delivering the cargo, so he could hit the sack. The long trip was now into its fifteenth hour, and Travis was beat. He tried to fight it, but he could feel his eyes drooping…

"Lieutenant! Look out!" The sudden yell across the comm snapped him awake. Movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention, and he glanced upwards to see a number of large rocks falling down towards him. His eyes shot wide as one particularly large rock bounced off a small ledge right above him.

"Holy cr…"

Before he could finish his thought the rock struck his Liger in the shoulder. The Liger was spun round by the impact, driving it into the ground. The shoulder joint itself was crushed to a pulp against the shoulder bracing within the Liger, and the entire spine was bent out of shape. Travis was thrown around within the cockpit, the restraints driving the breath from his lungs and the impact setting up a ringing in his ears. Several more heavy impacts resounded from behind him.

Dazed, he could only watch as a deluge of smaller rocks buried one of the Rev Raptors whole, while the others on that flank were struck by flying debris. But even before the rocks had stopped falling, cannon fire began to lace into the convoy from the wooded area on the other flank, while the glow of red bulbous eyes at the rear highlighted the position of Demantis zoids. As the Rev Raptors turned to engage, fire lanced down from the ridgeline at their backs.

Despite the surprise assault, the Imperial soldiers fought back with a vengeance, using their zoids small size and agility to dodge hostile fire. And with the Moglas sitting still, they were easy targets.

But then Travis saw a dark shape leap down from the ridgeline. It bounded from ledge to ledge before leaping onto the back of the squad leaders zoid, who so far had evaded everything thrown at him. The weight of the Zaber Fang bore the much smaller zoid to the ground, but the attacking pilot was not satisfied with just taking his foe out. With a snarl, the Zaber raised one paw high before slamming it down on the Raptors head, crushing the cockpit and killing the pilot instantly.

With the horrific death of their leader, the morale of the Imperials broke down, and each one was taken out rapidly. Travis grasped his controls, trying to get into the fight, but his Ligers systems were frozen solid.

A shadow fell across him, and he looked up, knowing what he would see. The Zaber Fangs head was backlit by the full moon, and the eyes glowed evilly.

Travis sighed, then without thought reached for the pendent around his neck. Just as his fingers brushed the cool metal, the cockpit canopy shattered, and he had one last glimpse of the sharp, rusted edges of the Zaber Fangs claws before everything went black with a sickening crunch.

x x x x x x

Slater pulled the Zabers paw free of the ruin of the Shield Liger's cockpit before turning to regard the ambush. Already the Backdrafts troops were rounding up the survivingImperial pilots and Gustav crews, while their own Gustavs approached to collect the fallen zoids. He smiled to himself as he considered the haul. In addition to the main prize, the Backdraft now had an extra six Rev Raptors and plenty of supplies.

"Commander Slater sir!" The lieutenant in command of the infantry called. "All prisoners are secure. What are your orders?"

Salter thought for a second. The Backdraft didn't have the manpower to hold prisoners and they couldn't let them go… that left only one option.

"Have them all killed."

"Sir?"

"You heard me. We don't have time to waste with them. And we certainly can't have them tell the Imperials who attacked them." Altiel had been very firm about the fact that they still had to remain a mystery, not reveal their hand just yet.

"Yes sir." There was resignation in the man's voice.

Slater put the Lieutenant and his prisoners out of mind. Instead he focused on what was contained within that seemingly harmless crate.

'Soon now, I'll have my revenge…'

x x x x x x

A couple of hours later, only a few dozen miles away, Cassandra Cortez was awakened from a very nice dream by a hand on her shoulder. She opened her bleary eyes to see the face of General Boyd's female secretary. As she focused her sight, Cassie noted that the other woman looked frightened out of her mind.

"I'm sorry to wake you ma'am, but there's been an incident…"

Van: That murderer!

Raven: Even I wasn't as bad as that...

DR: I did say that things were going to get dark. Next time we have the long awaited Trial of Rico, and we witness a 'moment' between Jamie and Pierce... till then! Don't forget to Review!