THREE

TRUST

Note: Happy New Year everybody!

Desert,
Delpoi Continent, Planet Zi,
December 5, 2127

Saskia still remembered this place, Fat Bob's Hover Cargo that also served as his torture chamber. She was captured and tortured five years ago, then put in a Demantis and hunted down in a demented hunting game by Fat Bob and his goons. Only her sheer dumb luck helped her escape Fat Bob's grip. She wondered what happened if she didn't come back with her Gilvader to get the Gravity Cannons from Fat Bob. Perhaps it behoved her to just take her Gilvader far away from Delpoi and forget about the ills he did to her. She wondered if the Gilvader's Gravity Cannons were worth being locked up in this Hover Cargo for the rest of her life – at least that was what Fat Bob said.

But it was not her own fate that debilitated her condition. She missed her Gilvader mostly, and the fact that she lost contact with her beloved zoid made her miserable beyond comprehension. At first she still heard its roars as if calling for her, but after a few days everything went completely silent. She had a feeling her zoid was not with her anymore, and it troubled her the worst.

During this second tenure with Fat Bob's brigands, Saskia hardly saw the sun. The machine shop where she was "enslaved" to work was entrenched deep inside the belly of the Hover Cargo. Saskia was a daylight person. Being forced to not see the sunrays sucked the life of her bit by bit. Not two months removed from her abduction and her eyes had sunken deep into the sockets, her cheeks lost their sparkle and caved in into the cheekbones, and she looked like she was a lot older than she actually was.

Fat Bob certainly learnt from his mistake. This time Saskia was not exposed to any zoids at all. She was forced to haul zoid parts around, along with dozens other girls that he captured. At 175 lb, Saskia had enough muscles to carry herself through this hardship. Other captived girls, however, were overwhelmed by the 'slave' mill, and more often than not Saskia ended up carrying extra loads to help the other captives to meet the demand.

"Put hands in shoulder," Saskia wheezed as the girl in front of her succumbed to the overwhelming weight of her load. The girl was of a delicate frame, standing half a head shorter than Saskia, and with little to no muscle to carry her burden. "I still have spaces to carry half your load."

"No share loads!" Fat Bob's guard came and unfurled a leather belt to strike the fallen girl. This guard, a woman with tunic covering every inch of her body barring her eyes and her hands, stood over the fallen girl with arms cocked behind her shoulder. "Stand on feet and see the parts delivered, or see your skin stripped from flesh!"

"She has too much in her shoulder," Saskia tried to defend the girl. "Let me give assist…"

"Seize your tongue!" the guard woman turned to Saskia. "Interfere again and I shall see your feet condemned to madness by the company of guards!"

"See it done and you'll lose two girls!" Saskia dared to challenge the guard woman. The guard was not that much bigger than the fallen girl, so even with the yoke on her shoulder, Saskia still towered over her. "Fat Bob will not be impressed by your performance!"

"Who do you think you are, Slave?" the guard moved to Saskia, cocking her arms to lash her leather belt at the bigger girl. "What makes you worthy of talking to me that way?"

The sudden outburst quickly grabbed everybody's attention, including Fat Bob himself. Before the guard could strike Saskia with her leather strap, Fat Bob stepped in and held the guard's arm, refraining her from inflicting damages. "What is of this rumpus?"

"This captived slave disrespects the guards and causes delay and confusion!" the guard came out aggressively. "Let me torture this bitch until she chokes herself!"

"I merely expedite the conveyance of the parts," Saskia quickly rebuked, gambling over Fat Bob's use of the word 'delay'. "This girl has too much in her plate. I can share the load with her, see it smoothens the flow."

"She causes this delay!" the guards pressed on. "The line stops because of her!"

"Had you not interrupted me giving assist, the line would have still been running."

"We are behind schedule," Fat Bob turned to the guard. "See it done their way."

"That big one is not to be trusted!" the guard hissed at Fat Bob, referring to Saskia. "This is not the first time she defies authority and disrespects guards! Have her lashed, break her spirit!"

"We cannot afford losing her! She carries large load!"

"If we disregard her…"

"One more word and see your salary forfeited!" Fat Bob snarled at the guard. "Split the load on the weakling and add it to hers! Keep the line moving!"

"Yes, Sir," the guard nodded, although begrudgingly. She came to the fallen girl and did as told. Now that the weight had been reduced, the girl pulled herself up and started walking by herself.

"Good to see that common sense prevails over ego in this place," Saskia huffed as she picked up the extra load from the fallen girl.

But in a swift move, Fat Bob grabbed Saskia by the upper arm, forcing her to drop the extra load. "I see what you are doing, you wretch! You defy me and everything I hold true! If your hands are not as useful as they are now, I will see your feet raped by the guards until you choke on own tongue and your lung bursts! Soon you will make a mistake, and when you do, I will cherish every moment of it!"

The intensity of Fat Bob's words took Saskia aback. She believed him when he said he would make her life a living hell. As a matter of fact, he already did. But Saskia brought up the worst of him that she had never seen before, and she realized that from now on she had to watch her back. Fat Bob was waiting to hurt her.

"Gratitude," the girl that Saskia helped came back and helped her mounted the extra load – the load Saskia took from her. "My heart swells with joy at such kindness, but also fear. You make but one confrontation with the guards, those who shall take pleasure in hurting you."

"Pain no longer concerns me," Saskia scoffed. "The only thing I hold dear is far beyond these walls."

"It is best if you do," the girl said, sitting on the ground so she could nurture the soles of her feet. Her arches were red and contorted; a sign of severe torture not too long ago. "The guards have affinity for feet agony. It hurts like a thousand needles. If you value your feet, do not cross path with the guards anymore. I am not worthy of your toes."

Saskia sat by her and inspected the bruises. Of course she knew what it was like to be tortured by Fat Bob's guards. "I escaped from this hell five years ago," she sighed as she rubbed the girl's sole. "I know everything there is to know about those guards. I had what you had."

"You've been in this place?" the girl blurted. "How did you escape? Why did you come back?"

"I escaped riding Fat Bob's misjudgment and my own luck," Saskia smiled ironically as she relived the memory. "I came back because obviously I have no mind outside making grievance with Fat Bob. I stole something from him."

"The Gilvader!" the girl chimed, eyes opened wide.

"No, not him. The weapons. The compact Gravity Cannons. I came back to rob Fat Bob from his prized Gravity Cannons, because I wanted those cannons on my zoid. Perhaps I shouldn't have; Gilvy and I would have still been together without the Gravity Cannons. But no purpose in crying over spilled milk; now only grief swells within me. Gilvy has been absent for a long time. It takes away the spirit in me."

"Put heart to rest," the girl replied while leaning on the wall. "It was of legends of old. No one fancies the demise of such zoid. Not even the Neo Zenebas."

"Neo Zenebas?" Saskia pricked her head. "Gilvader is a Guylos by design. How did you come upon Neo Zenebas?"

"I overheard," the girl lowered her voice lest the guards heard their conversation, "Fat Bob sold the Gilvader to Emperor Wolff Muroa."

"Wolff Muroa? Are you certain?" Saskia cringed. "To what cost?"

"I don't know. If they did discuss the transaction, it slipped from my attention."

"It makes no sense!" Saskia mused. "Neo Zenebas is being driven to extinction. Agents from Helic Republic and Guylos Empire are hunting down the remants of Neo Zenebas Empire. How can one Gilvader alter the fate of Neo Zenebas? Is Wolff Muroa primed to step in the footprints of Prozen or Hiltz?"

"It may not be about vengeance or an effort to save Neo Zenebas," the girl tried to keep up with Saskia's reasoning. "It might be all about money."

"No matter," the information gave Saskia a new vigor. "What's important is now I know where to find my Gilvader. I am in acquaintance with Miss Mio, the daughter of the President of Helic Republic, who holds lunch meetings with the daughter of Wolff Muroa. I shall request the attention of Miss Mio to ask Empress Muroa about the whereabouts of the Gilvader."

"Apologies? Have you lost mind?" the girl shrunk, shooting an incredulous stare at Saskia. "Are you insinuating that you are breaking out of here?"

"My zoid was ripped from my grasp, and I will get it back!" Saskia rose to her feet. "I know this accursed Hover Cargo well. I will see myself out of here, and I will hear the voice of my zoid in greeting longed for."

Saskia was ready to get back to work, but the girl grabbed her arms. "Please," she begged, "do not do this. You have made too many enemies in this place. Their eyes are on you, and they will be delighted to put you in misery if you so much make one tiniest offense in any regard. Please, put reason to mind. Nothing is worthy of the suffering."

"Gilvy is worthy of all suffering," Saskia tapped the girl's hand in assurance. "I bless the fate you share your knowledge about Fat Bob and Wolff Muroa…"

"I curse my knowledge if it so much cause you pain!" the girl clenched her hands on Saskia's arms. "Please, I beg you, do not do this..."

"I will be alright," Saskia forged a smile. "I will get my zoid back. Then I will come back and lay waste of this caravan. This time Fat Bob's derangement will meet its end."

It had been 5 years since Saskia was entrapped in Fat Bob's Hover Cargo, but nothing much changed. It took her two days to map out the guards positions and rotations. She noted every hole in the guards' position, and carved a parth through the least observed corners. Since she didn't have access to see the upper section of the Hover Cargo, she would have to do it by memory. But looking at how things changed little at the bottom part, she thought she could rely on a guess that the upper section didn't change much either.

So when her shift was over and the captives were escorted to their bunks, Saskia watched for the guards, waiting for one of them to expose her back at her. The second it happened, she dove straight under a pile of crates. The guards never realized that she had gone missing, but Saskia knew it wouldn't be for long. She knew she didn't want to be around when they found out she fell out of formation.

When the procession passed, Saskia darted toward the farthest stair of the hallway. Being barefoot helped her move stealthily without much sound. She climbed fast, coming into the hangar from behind the coolant tank. A few technicians were working on a couple of zoids. The third zoid, a Killerdome, leisurely rested at the far corner of the hangar. As overwhelming the temptation to slid into the Killerdome cockpit and bolt out of the hangar was, Saskia knew she was not a good zoid pilot. The Gilvader had been the only zoid she ever piloted for more than 5 years, and although she had matured a lot, she wouldn't risk her life on it.

So she decided to disregard all zoids and escape on foot. The repercussion was grave. She didn't know where the caravan was, and she could end up in the desert with no water, no food, and no means of transportation whatsoever. But it was better than gambling with zoids. She tiptoed behind the tank, trying to break free but the technicians just wouldn't leave the zoids alone. She became restless, knowing that the guards downstairs could find out about her disappearance any minute now. She had to leave soon.

Desperate, Saskia grabbed a small screwdriver that was carelessly left out of the toolbox, then pried a gasket off the coolant tank. Green liquid oozed from the tank, and the pressure from the coolant finally busted the gasket. The floor was flooded with coolant, and the situation quickly got the attention of the technicians.

As the techs scrambled the floor to fix the leak, Saskia burst into sprint toward the hangar door. There was still daylight left outside, and the blinding light from the sand confirmed her suggestion that they were indeed in a desert. The setting sun on the horizon gave her a glimmer of hope that she didn't have to wander in the desert in the scorching heat. Saskia shielded her eyes as she ran as fast as she could down the ramp, trying to find a place where she could hide, but as her eyes adjusted to the bright surroundings, she watched in horror as she almost bumped into Fat Bob and half a dozen guards – male guards – at the bottom of the ramp.

As if Fat Bob knew she was making a breakout.

"The fool of a Republic dog!" Fat Bob sneered as the guards immobilized Saskia down the ramp. "Can't use head for once, even to save own life! Didn't I tell you I would accrue your agony for making a mistake? You just had to contest my words! You are but a glutton for punishment!"

"You bastard!" Saskia squirmed, but she was no match against the guards. "You stole my zoid!"

"As you did my guns."

"Do not put your loss on equal footing! I did not kill you to take possession of them! You, you tried to kill me!"

"Speak like a split-tongued snake," Fat Bob crouched next to her. "People I killed deserve death, because let live, they stab you in the back." Fat Bob snapped his fingers, and two female guards dragged the girl Saskia helped. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she made the best effort not to look Saskia in the eyes.

"Apologies," she whimpered. "Apologies, but I couldn't' take it anymore..."

For a second Saskia felt the burning urge to lunged and beat up the girl to pulp. But looking at her shaking knees and staggering stance, leaning on the two female guards for support, Saskia realized that this was not a case of betrayal. The guards must have seen them talking and they gave the poor girl hell to spill out the essence of their conversation.

"Now speak of the truth, young lady," Fat Bob drew a pistol and put the barrel on the girl's temple. "Does she deserve to die?"

"No one deserves to die by your hands," Saskia hissed.

"Not after her betrayal?" Fat Bob cocked the gun. "Give words and your debt is paid."

"No." Saskia dared to look Fat Bob in the eyes. "Never."

"A choice, then. She dies and you go back to the cell as if nothing happened. She lives, and you get what she had, ten fold. Keep in mind that a few of my guards are eager to see you suffer. Choose well for your own sake."

It didn't take a second for Saskia to decide, "You are not killing anybody, not when I can stop it."

"Fine," Fat Bob uncocked the gun and holstered it back. "I hope you can live with it."

The female guards dragged the girl back into the Hover Cargo. The male guards forced Saskia to stand, bound her hands behind her back, then ushered her into the Hover Cargo. But instead of the lower level, they took Saskia to a different room where two female guards have been waiting. Their tunic concealed their expression as linen covered their bodies from head to toe, but their eyes dispelled their excitement.

Saskia knew it was going to be a very long night.