PART III

BLAZING ACES CIVIL WAR

CHAPTER 21

SHOCKED BY THE SHELLS

Author's Note:

Many, many apologies for taking such a long time updating this story. I planned to do it sooner but last October I thought I had a life-changing event. It turned out I overestimated what needed to be done, which was a good thing. Then I got too engrossed in another project over at deviantArt that took 8 months to complete. I don't mean to put this story on hiatus, but the other one was such a fun project that let me interact with fans in a more intimate level (get the message? READ and REVIEW will get the chapters out faster! :lol: )

But now everything has come back to normal (or I have made necessary adjustment, I don't know, they're all the same to me). Again, I am sorry for the long delay. I have never left a story unfinished, and I am not about to start with this one. I will see this story ended, or die trying.

Review Corner

The Colonel: You still miss a couple but since nobody else takes the challenge I'll just give this one for you. So The Colonel wins a Free Commission at deviantArt (Oh, what shocking news! ;P )

AncientRaig: Double Heat Sinks! I missed that one. OK then, the SRM2 stays. I'll incorporate this next time.

And now, onto the story

Rose City,
Eastern Continent, Planet Zi,
March 5, ZAC 2129

Dagonet did not know how long his comset had been ringing, viciously trying to pull him out of his sleep. He had been trying to ignore the miserable thing for what felt like the entire night, but the stubborn little thing was as persistent as its owner. Dagonet needed the sleep, and he had come very close to just throw the damn thing out of the window. But in his drowsy state of mind, he remembered that he needed the comset. Kenny might call anytime.

Then he realized: it could be Kenny.

Why attempt such thing at night? he wondered. Why not sunrise, when hands and mouth are removed from ample breasts, and cock from warm comfort?

But perhaps Kenny did call during the day. Perhaps Kenny had been calling all day, all night, all the time, trying to get a hold of him. Perhaps it was he who had lost track of time and space in favor or the voluptuous redhead that he couldn't get his hands - and mouth, and legs, and just about everything else – off of.

Dagonet just had to laugh at himself as he revisited the night when it started. They on the verge of being discovered by the Backdraft, and as a last desperate measure Laeta coined a stunt to fool Khyron and his henchmen. It was not meant to be more than just a subterfuge. But the mere seconds when they were tangled without clothing, simulating lovers in the throes of passion, he wished it was for real. The smoothness of her skin, the dank smell of her hair, the warmth of her breath, all but pumped his 'appetite' to feverish pitch. And by the way she looked at him, he knew she wanted it too.

They gave it a go with intention to leave it all behind the next day, but they hadn't stopped since.

Dagonet had never been enamored by a girl until now. Her lovemaking was poised but passionate, spirited yet gentle, audacious but cared about his pleasure as much as her own. But his infatuation transcended above their sexual exploits, if such thing could still be called 'infatuation'. He started feeling as if he was taking advantage of her. Laeta worked for a violent organization with a violent man at the helm. They were lucky when they infiltrated the Backdraft hangar and escaped without suspicion. The second time, there were too many things for Khyron to hold against her. Backdraft could easily retrace his online signature to find him, and when they did, they would find him with her. There were many cameras in the hangar when Laeta purposefully took off her mask to prevent Khyron's organoid to kill him, a selfless act on her part to get him out of trouble. One way or another Khyron would find his way to her, and he started to feel responsible for it.

But Dagonet didn't know what else was there to take. He only thought of Saskia when he planned the stunt, and only saw Laeta as a means to set his plan in motion. He never expected to fall in love with her after all damage had been done.

His comset inconsiderately rang, and Dagonet had it enough. He grabbed the thing and punched the receive button. He knew what to expect, and his postulate materialized in less than a second.

"Days past we were of singular mind: Saskia's unintended flight to Terra, and the reversing of it. Does cause still linger in head?"

"Would that Command Wolves in Helic Republic Army," Dagonet replied, half whispering.

"Then where are you? What reason you beheld to leave me to my own?"

"Kenny…"

"Find tongue and let it flap! I but demand words!"

"Attempt to gather information has borne shriveled fruit," Dagonet tried to present some logic. "Backdraft henchmen are hot on our tails. Laeta and I must slither toward colder clime and let discerning eyes pass."

"Laeta is a Backdraft! She is not one with us!"

"She bears cause to extend hands! She is a friend of Saskia, I assure you."

"And you stand in her stead? What, do you fall to her warm embrace presently?"

"None that merits your consideration," Dagonet could feel his face burning. "See yourself to cover, or fall to undeserved ends."

"Then what is of Saskia? Do we turn cold hearts for her?"

"A mere delay, born of small oversight. I will attempt contact," Dagonet cut the connection then turned off his comset. He felt bad for putting Kenny in that situation. In fact, he felt bad for putting everybody in the current situation. Laeta's life was in danger for getting closer and closer to Backdraft's confidential projects, Kenny was mad for being left out, and they were nowhere near the necessary stuffs to return Saskia to Planet Zi.

"Kenny made contact?" Laeta's head perked slowly from under the blanket.

"Moved by unattended state," Dagonet replied, wrapping his arms around her.

"He stands in drought for too long," Laeta stretched languidly. "We must reestablish his proper footing, or find his trust replaced by distaste."

"I shall see it done as the sun rises," Dagonet glanced at the clock. "Yet it is 2 hours hence. Give life to passion, and let it soar to heavens."

Laeta giggled as Dagonet dove under the blanket to find her bare breasts. "Two hours? Much as heart inflates with promises of pleasure, stamina is past enduring recourse."

"Last night, it stood at great length towards vigorous end," Dagonet flashed a wolfish grin, recalling their most recent lovemaking. He teased her for hours, pushing her repeatedly to climax but holding her back from reaching the summit, to the point she broke down in tears, begging for him to have mercy on her. It gave him great delight to see this reserved, confident woman lose all inhibition in the throes of passion, and her expulsion of ecstasy when he finally pushed her over the top.

"A torture, borne of twisted perversion!" Laeta puckered up and slapped his hand. "I cannot believe you would lavish me with much love only to bear witness to my suffering!"

"Apologies for the lacking," Dagonet played along. "Hands but strived for your enjoyment in the matter."

"You know my meaning," she bemoaned, but underneath her playful demeanor she upheld adoration of the man. She had her fair share of lovers, but none of them had the size, skill, stamina, and self-control like Dagonet. Added with his mischief to torment his partner with pleasure, he had a complete arsenal to push her to her limit, as he made her suffer last night. He filled her up to the edge of climax only to withdraw, leaving her unfulfilled, then repeated the sequence with a different maneuver. He teased her again and again, switching between moves that drove her wild and those that turned her cold, until she just couldn't take it anymore. Every inch of her body screamed for release. And when Dagonet finally let her have it, she erupted in an uncontrollable burst so hard she almost fainted. There was so much tension it took a long time for her to calm down, after which she tearfully admitted that he was the best lover she had ever had.

Laeta started to shift forward to kiss his lips when a much too familiar sound echoed from outside her living quarter. She would ignore it, but the fact that she heard it at the break of dawn made her worry. She pushed Dagonet aside and rose from the bed, struggling to walk on her cramped toes and wobbly knees, a fond reminder of Dagonet's devastating ministration. She made it to the window and peeked between the blinds. Two Guysacks crept toward her place, with their laser cannons pointing straight at her.

The realization hit her like a brick to the head.

"INCOMING!" she screamed from the top of her lung and jumped toward the bed. A mere second later two red strands of laser incised her bedroom, torching everything in their paths. The wall quickly crumbled, electrical conduits burst in geysers of sparks, and the bed went up in flames.

"Get down!" Dagonet quickly dragged Laeta away from the bed. He slipped behind a table and overturned it, making an impromptu shield, though he wasn't sure how it was going to stop the laser bolts. But there was no other option. He pulled Laeta behind the table when a gigantic claw burst into the room, wiping the furniture clean. Another claw busted in from the opposite direction. Losing support, the ceiling crumbled and pinned the claws on the ground. Angry screeches from the Guysacks reverberated in the room, before they blasted the debris away. Burning debris whizzed every which way, spreading fire throughout the entire quarter. Yet miraculously the overturned table was left unscathed, safely covering Dagonet and Laeta.

"Khyron's minions?" Dagonet yelled as he tried to find escape.

"Crest escapes sight!" Laeta yelled back. "My Lord Gale! It will serve its purpose against those devils!"

"Make haste!" Dagonet yanked Laeta's arm and coaxed her to run with him, scrambling for whatever clothing they could get. The two Guysacks spotted them and thrust their claw through the rubbles. Laeta yelped as the tip of the claw nudged her on the back, but Dagonet quickly overturned a tall cupboard on the claw. The cupboard deflected the claw just enough for the couple to slip past it.

By this time Laeta's living quarter had turned into a burning wreck. The Guysacks, tired of chasing the couple through debris, fired their laser cannons in rapid succession and destroyed everything. But their rushed maneuver actually helped Dagonet and Laeta escaped. Burning debris hampered their movement, and fire hindered their vision. As the two zoids got themselves trapped, Dagonet and Laeta dashed toward her Lord Gale, standing at the ready a few dozen feet away.

As soon as they climbed into the cockpit, Laeta put her zoid on flight mode and went airborne as soon as the giant gargoyle signaled its readiness.

"What are you doing?" Dagonet sneered. "Turn around and see their hearts ripped from chests!"

"Hands tethered by employment to Backdraft!" Laeta replied. She knew Dagonet would not accept her reasoning, but at the moment she didn't have better things to offer. "I would not risk attacking Backdraft agents!"

"A fact voided by attempt at your head!" Dagonet growled impatiently. "Backdraft or not, they are trying to kill you! Come to grip and cut down the zoids! Have their heads and quench vengeance with blood!"

"You are not at helm! I am!" Laeta barked back. "See grievance settled when hostility passes! As of now, we turn back from vague entanglement!"

Dagonet was about to open his mouth when the console rang. Two Raynos closed in on the Lord Gale from behind, while two Redlers, dragon-type zoids carrying high-performance CP-09 booster cannons on their backs, tried to intercept the Lord Gale from the left flank. All zoids were significantly faster than the Lord Gale.

"Zoid fighters, you are attacking a Backdraft agent," Laeta played her last gambit to escape without fighting. "Stand down! Give life to purpose or see much worse when Backdraft laid eyes upon unprovoked aggression toward its property!"

"This is Backdraft Task Force Delta," one of the attackers made contact, effectively put an end to Laeta's nonviolent resolve. "We come bearing message from Captain Khyron Saggaff. Lay down your arms, you'll be allowed to live. Refuse, and Captain Saggaff has sworn despicable death for your betrayal!"

"Betrayal? But I have done no such thing!"

"None of our concern. Surrender! We will not ask again!"

"And what of my boyfriend's life?"

"The cost of the bargain."

Laeta wished everything did not have to end this way, but she had expected it when she decided to go with Dagonet and Kenny to help Saskia. She took pride of her work for Backdraft Organization. She was a good agent, being able to complete tasks with glowing results. But Backdraft had moved toward antagonism as of late, especially with Captain Khyron Saggaff as the frontrunner. As much as she wanted to stay loyal to Backdraft Organization, she despised the course it was taking. And now that Backdraft was taking a shot at her man, one that gave her so much joy and showed her what it was like to love and be loved, she realized it was time for her to find another employer.

"Then consider this my resignation!" Laeta mashed her trigger. A bright trace of light struck the Redler closest to her on the left side. Expecting nothing as violent, the Redler screamed as the strands of light cored the base of its wing. Fire engulfed the hull as the Redler started to capsize, slowly engaging a nose dive toward the inevitable crash.

The other Redler quickly lined up its cannons with the Lord Gale. Two blinding streaks lit up the sky with murderous intention. Laeta yanked her joystick as hard as she could, but one streak cut a deep gash on the Lord Gale's shoulder. The gargoyle zoid roared in defiance. A quick check of the damage control screen convinced her that it was just a flesh wound, but she knew it would go a lot worse, especially with the Raynos entering the fray.

Laeta knew that her zoid was outnumbered and outgunned, but not outmaneuvered. The only chance of survival against 3 high-performance zoids was to utilize the Lord Gale's agility and impressive melee weapons, something that fast aerial zoids like Raynos and Redlers might not expect in a dogfight. But to do that she had to get close to her opponents, a feat that was nearly impossible against superior numbers.

"Be patient," Dagonet said gently on her ear, as if reading her mind. "Exhaust their cannons, make them come to you for the kill, then bury your spears in their cores!"

The Raynos formed rank and unleashed a fusillade, trying to bring the Lord Gale down in one quick move. Laeta groaned as she threw the joystick around like a maniac, making her Lord Gale thrash about. Vulcan shells whizzed inches away from the cockpit. A few Vulcan rounds punctured the Lord Gale's wings but did not affect the flight capability of the gargoyle zoid.

Laeta pulled her zoid from the Raynos' firing arc and fired her own cannons. The Raynos broke formation to evade her hasty shots, then boxed her in a crossfire. The Redler joined the fray, firing its deadly Booster Cannons from a safe distance. Laeta dove hard until she was close to the ground. The Raynos kept firing, strafing madly with their cannons, creating a swath of fire and smoke as the missed shots ravaged the ground.

Laeta crisscrossed her path until she came to a small ridge. She flew over the ridge then took cover behind it on the other side. The Raynos and Redler bombarded the ridge mercilessly, tossing pebbles and mud to the air until the ridge was all but flattened. But the debris formed a cloud, and using it as a smokescreen, Laeta launched her zoid through the cloud, straight at the closest Raynos. The oversized claw of the Lord Gale clamped down on the Raynos' neck, locking the two zoids in a death grip. The Raynos tried to escape, clawing back at the Lord Gale's chest while flapping the wings madly. The hardened-alloy claws tore into the Lord Gale's armor, shredding metal like paper. The Lord Gale screeched, crying for Laeta's attention before its armor gave in.

"Take it to ground! Now!" Dagonet barked his instruction.

Laeta forced her Lord Gale to take a short climb then reversed direction, diving hard with the Raynos pinned under her zoid. The two slammed to the ground, violently, in a plume of debris. The cockpit of the Raynos burst under weight of the Lord Gale, crushing the pilot inside. But the Raynos was still writhing and trying to claw its way off the Lord Gale. Laeta raised her twin spears and stabbed the Raynos at the core. The metal pterodactyl gave one final jerk before slumping.

The other Raynos fired everything it had, supported by the Redler. Laeta went airborne again, engaging evasive maneuvers while waiting for an opening for counterattack. It was not long until the Raynos ran out of ammunition. Laeta pumped her cannons, forcing the Raynos to fly to higher altitude. The Redler gave chase, but Laeta focused on the Raynos and kept up the pressure. The Raynos flew higher and higher until the air could not support its body, then started stalling. Laeta anticipated the trajectory of the stall, then intercepted the Raynos while it was still diving. The Lord Gale's spears thrusted deep into the fuselage, dislocating the right wing. With only one wing left intact, the Raynos came spiraling down out of control.

The Redler decided not to contest the Lord Gale's air superiority, and decided to leave the battlefield.

As the Lord Gale glided calmly, Laeta leaned back on her command couch and took several deep breaths. Dagonet's strong arm caressed her fatigue arms, giving her some needed comfort after the unexpected turn of event. In her entire career with Backdraft Organization she was only forced to fight a couple times at most. It was overwhelming that her last act as a Backdraft operative was a fight against other Backdraft operatives.

"Most impressing showing," Dagonet whispered in her ear. "It warms heart to know you walk the right path."

"I fear it comes too late," Laeta replied softly. "Hands should have stricken chain from neck sooner."

"I would have it the same," Dagonet ran his fingers down her damp hair. "We lost the support of Backdraft, yet still have information from Backdraft database."

"Saved in Lord Gale's memory," Laeta added. "Let us bring it to light, and cast Backdraft's cover-up scheme to shadow."