SEVEN

HOT IN PURSUIT

Note: I changed Cassiopeia's zoid from Leostriker to Arosaurer. The reason is an Arosaurer makes more sense in the following battle than a Leostriker (which you'll see when you read this chapter). So apologies to those who are confused. I also changed the text on the previous chapters to go along with this chapter.

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NaoS1: Thank you for your kind words. I hope you enjoy this part.

Somewhere in The Desert,
Eastern Continent, Planet Zi,
January 26, 2128

A thick plume of smoke in the middle of the desert served as a beacon to pirates and bandits, much like a heap of stale food to flies and cockroaches. Fat Bob knew this. He knew his head had a price. He knew every second he spent sitting in the desert would double the chance of getting attacked by bandits, opportunists, bounty hunters, or even legal forces. So he enlisted everybody in his caravan – thugs, technicians, crews, captives – to try to fix his damaged Hover Cargoes. Everything was poised to get the transport zoids to move.

Unfortunately for Fat Bob, the smoke attracted unwanted attention. Cassiopeia, Kenny, and Roxy were on their way to Rose City when they spotted the black pillar of smoke. Following her hunch, Cassiopeia took a detour and proceeded to check the source of the smoke. She found a tall dune within a mile from the smoke, then parked her Aurosaurer and climbed the dune on foot. At the top she observed the site with her power scope, and smiled at the carnage she saw. Most of the charred zoids she spotted were Sinkers, but a half-baked Killerdome sat idly near a Hover Cargo, swarmed by technicians.

"What do you see?" Kenny asked as he and Roxy dismounted the organoid.

"A Killerdome, owned by Fat Bob," Cassiopeia snorted. "Elusive zoid trader, gangster, murderer, pimp. Tops most-wanted lists on half the occupied territory on Zi. I bless my fate to catch him at his most unfortunate moment."

"Doesn't Rottiger deal with Neo Zenebas?" Kenny stood next to Cassiopeia. "How did you come upon Fat Bob?"

"Petty criminals are not of Rottiger's concern, but we team up with Interpol and local law enforcements. They extended their hands for me on my missions. Today I am fated to return the favor."

"Hmm…" Kenny huffed. "So what are we to do next?"

"Stay out of sight," Cassiopeia turned around and walked back toward her zoid. "Shall I fall, you are free to go."

Without looking back, Cassiopeia climbed her zoid and throttled forward. The Arosaurer galloped on the sand, creating a long trail of dust that was visible from miles. She knew she was giving up her position – and her element of surprise along with it – but there was no other choice. She had to catch Fat Bob as soon as possible, before he had a chance to fix his transports and disappear back into the thick of the desert.

And it didn't take long until Fat Bob's entourage noticed her presence. Technicians and captives were ushered back into the Hover Cargo while Zi fighters and combatants took up positions. But only two Sinkers took off and try to fight the Arosaurer before it reached the caravan. The other Sinkers were too damaged to even move from their spots.

Cassiopeia smiled as Fat Bob's Gun Blaster took up a defensive position in front of the Hover Cargoes.

"Turn around and leave!" one of the Sinkers barked. "Or find a torpedo between legs!"

"Unnecessary hostility," Saskia replied casually. "I seek but one man. Royce DesGagne. Give him to me, and I will leave in silence."

"Never heard of him!" the zoid pilot snapped. "Now leave!"

"Saskia, then," Cassiopeia pressed on. "Saskia van Leewenhoek."

"Never heard of that either!"

"Lies! I smell shit falling off your mouth!" Cassiopeia throttled down to a steady stroll while lining up her shoulder cannons with the Sinkers. "Last chance: Where is Royce or Saskia?"

"Go to hell!" the Sinkers dashed at her with guns blazing. Cassiopeia expected this. She slammed her joystick to the right, taking her Arosaurer to lurch, dodging the beam strands. The Sinkers strafed her position then gained altitude in an attempt to pass her, but she fired her shoulder guns in rapid succession. A stream of energy strands gutted the Sinkers like dozens of scalpels. Fire belched from the Sinker's undersides, followed by smorgasbord of parts and machineries. The Sinkers staggered to stay afloat but the gorges on their fuselage bled parts at a mortal rate. Soon they reeled and spun toward the ground, ending in twin fireballs.

"And where do you stand, Fat Bob?" Cassiopeia walked boldly at the Gun Blaster, as if its 22 assorted cannons didn't scare her a bit. "Are you but a dumbhead like your thugs, or do you actually have wisdom behind those cannons? One that can measure situation and save life?"

"You have me at your mercy," Fat Bob hissed, haplessly, but still defiantly. He realized that all his Sinkers had been destroyed or badly damaged, and he had to face Cassiopeia alone. "But keep in mind that your gain is but a mirage. If I didn't have this misfortune, you wouldn't have found me!"

"Then heed my demand. Give me Royce DesGagne or Saskia van Leewenhoek."

"I don't know the first name," Fat Bob growled. "I wish I could give you Saskia. She brought but bad luck, a bane I should have never procured in the first place. She is gone, away with my wealth."

"Who helped her? A Zi fighter in a Command Wolf?"

"Yes, a Command Wolf, riding north."

"North where?"

"If I knew, bitch, I would go there and accrue her blood myself!" Fat Bob snarled curtly.

"A man of your volume, forfeited from such simple fact? Don't insult my intelligence!" Cassiopeia grimaced, putting the Gun Blaster on her crosshair. "One more time, heathen: North where?"

"Or what? Sending in the calvaries?" Fat Bob sniggered, but he too lined up his targeting reticule with the Arosaurer. "I have been worse and still escaped the government! You law dogs never learn from experience!"

"Rottiger has no interest in your kind," Cassiopeia growled. "Interpol has a large bounty on your head, but I shall leave it for lowlives like bounty hunters to scrape your bones. I want Royce DesGagne or Saskia van Leewenhoek, and you are not to deny me! So for one last time: where are they going?"

"North… up your ass!" Fat Bob roared and thumbed his trigger. His cannons flashed in unison; energy beams and ballistics blended into one massive killer blob dashing at the Arosaurer. Cassiopeia yanked her joystick as hard as she could. The Aurosaurer lurched to the left, missing a great deal of shots from the Gun Blaster. But a few shells grazed her arm and leg armor. Bits of zoids armor came off flying in the air, and the cockpit trembled. The Arosaurer shot a long howl as it staggered, backpedalling to keep standing.

Cassiopeia fought back the sudden loss of balance, quickly realigning her cannons for a counterattack. Her 105-millimeter cannons barked in unison, peppering the side of the Gun Blaster with lethal shots. But the beam shots barely chipped the thick Gun Blaster armor. The Gun Blaster raised its electromagnetic shield, and the Aurosaurer's shots bounced off the shield harmlessly.

Cassiopeia knew she couldn't break the Gun Blaster's defense the conventional way. Her Aurosaurer didn't have enough firepower to pierce the Gun Blaster's armor, let alone the electromagnetic shield. The only chance she got was by using the Arosaurer's melee weapons. Its Electron fangs and claws may bust through the Gun Blaster's armor, but first she had to dismantle the shield. The Gun Blaster's shield generators were built into 24 spikes around its body, which also served as weapons in close quarter combat. It was not easy to destroy them, but fortunately for her, Fat Bob had other 'target of opportunities', spread carelessly on the desert.

As the Gun Blaster sat idly under its shield, Cassiopeia turned her guns at the Hover Cargoes. She let her beam cannons rip, strafing the interior that were being repaired. Explosions tore the interior apart; fire started to consume the Hover Cargoes again. One Hover Cargo managed to raise its shield, but the other one was too damaged to even start the engine. Cassiopeia swung around and took pot shots at the Hover Cargo's weak spots, turning the big transport into a towering inferno.

"Coward! Fight me, government slave!" Fat Bob boomed, lowering his shield to open fire at the Aurosaurer. Traces of beams and cannon shells raced toward the allosaurus-type zoid. But Cassiopeia had anticipated this move. As soon as Fat Bob's cannons flashed, she put her Aurosaurer to a moderate run, circling the Gun Blaster, while taking pot shots at the spikes around its body. This tactic proved to be fruitfull: the spikes were not as heavily armored as the Gun Blaster's body. Two spikes exploded easily, and three more started to spew smoke.

The Gun Blaster grew impatient. It chased the Arosaurer faster, running in circle, almost like chasing its own tail. His cannons blasted incessantly, trying to catch the smaller zoid with one lucky blow. But Cassiopeia kept her pace, putting her Aurosaurer two steps away from the Gun Blaster's line of fire, avoiding its deadly firepower while defiling its shield generators at will. One by one the spikes on the left side of the Gun Blasters exploded, leaving only one side of spikes remaining.

As the last spike blew, Cassiopeia turned her guns at the Gun Blaster's head. Fat Bob reflexively raised his shield, but with only half of his shield generators remaining, the shield failed to form. Cassiopeia lined up her crosshair with the Gun Blaster's head and fired a vicious beam salvo. The energy lances scourged the Gun Blaster's face unadulterated, and for the first time the big zoid was stunned.

Cassiopeia seized this opportunity. She gunned her engine, lunging at the Gun Blaster that was still trying to regain senses. The Gun Blaster turned to get a clear shot but the Aurosaurer sidestepped it and pounced at the Gun Blaster's cannon clusters. Its Electron Fangs crunched half a dozen cannons, ripping them apart from their sockets in a sickening screech of twisted metal, while its claws tore two more cannons apart. The Gun Blaster roared in agony, then writhed and squirmed to shake off the Aurosaurer. But Cassiopeia knew when to back off. She jumped off the Gun Blaster and sprinted before the Gun Blaster could mount a counter attack with its remaining weapons, which were still strong enough to hurt her.

The Gun Blaster turned around and desperately fired all guns to keep the pesky Aurosaurer away. Beam wisps and ballistics zipped in every which way, blanketing the area with murderous shots without any particular target. Some cannon shells hammered the Hover Cargoes, slinging armor smelters at the crowd scattered in front of the gargantuan transports. Mortal screams echoed as technicians, thugs, captives, and zoid pilots were pelted by burning splinters. But at this point Fat Bob was beyond caring. He went berserk, shooting at everything in sight, hoping to catch the Arosaurer with his saturated fire.

Cassiopeia kept circling the Gun Blaster, moving away from its line of fire, taking pot shots at the cannon clusters but kept her distance. Spark burst and smoke twirled from the Gun Blaster's hump as a few cannons shattered under Cassiopeia's strafing. The Gun Blaster slowed down, and she took a good hard lock at the Tri-Barelled Rail Cannon and let loose a flurry of beam lances. The Rail Cannon erupted in earth-shattering fireworks, tossing other cannons into the air like a geyser. The Gun Blaster staggered, writhing on wavering legs as its entire arsenal went up in flames.

"This is the end of your laurels, Fat Bob," Cassiopeia said as she brought her Arosaurer closer to the dismantled Gun Blaster.

"Take pause, I beg of you," Fat Bob said, half pleading. "You do not have to take my life."

"You tried to take mine!" Cassiopeia bellowed. "Your action sowed own doom. Now you reap death!"

Waiting for no reply, the Arosaurer jumped and sank its teeth into the head of the Gun Blaster. The Electron Fangs crushed the thick carapace of the Gun Blaster's cockpit. Broken glass and gristles splattered as the head caved in. The Gun Blaster lost all power and went limp. Its wide body slumped upon the sand, raising a cloud of dust.

Cassiopeia took a deep breath and observed the vicinity. With their leader dead, the zoids destroyed, and the Hover Cargoes broken down, the crew of Fat Bob's caravan could only look at Cassiopeia for mercy. Cassiopeia could just evaporate everybody for the sake of simplicity, but she still needed information on Royce or Saskia. Her gut feeling told her that somebody in the crowd could help her in her quest.

"Take hands off weapons, all of you!" she said through her external speaker. "Drop on knees and put hands behind heads! Heed not my words and follow your leader to hell!" As the crowd knelt and put their hands behind their heads, Cassiopeia hailed Kenny. "Kid, come up here. Accrue their weapons and toss them into the bonfire."

Kenny, Roxy and Cleto arrived and started collecting rifles and submachine guns. As they threw the weapons into the burning Hover Cargo, Cassiopeia exited her zoid and drew her own sidearm, a long-barrelled 45-caliber automatic pistol. She aimed her gun at the general direction of the crowd, letting them know that she did not hesitate to use it.

"Put ears to work because I will say this only once," she yelled. "I am Lieutenant Cassiopeia, Rottiger Special Operation Force. I am in hunt of ex-Rottiger rogue named Royce DesGagne. It is of great possibility that Royce had made acquaintance with Saskia van Leewenhoek, the girl that foiled Helic Republic revolution 5 years ago. My mission is to catch them, dead or alive! I have no remorse in loss of human lives, as long as I complete my mission. Anybody knows where Royce or Saskia is going, step up and give me said information. If I don't get anything in one minute, you all burn and meet your leader in the afterlife!"

The crowd broke into a sea of murmur. Everybody tried to scavenge snippets of information about Saskia and where she might go, but nobody had enough information to give to Cassiopeia. Just as the minute began to expire, a slender arm rose from the back end of the crowd.

"Kenny! Bring that up here!" Cassiopeia roared.

Kenny quickly went toward the raised arm and escorted the owner to the front. It was a girl, scrawny and filthy covered in a piece of rag. Her light brown hair was covered in dust, and her face smeared with grime. But her eyes were full of hope, a sure sign that she had something to bargain for her life.

"Speak in brevity," Cassiopeia huffed. "Who are you and where do you think Royce or Saskia is going?"

"My name is Maia, I knew Saskia when she was in servitude with me," the girl explained. "I overheard Fat Bob selling Saskia's zoid to Wolff Muroa, and I shared this information with her. Saskia planned to make a break to meet Mio, the daughter of Helic Republic President, since Mio had periodic meeting with Wolff Muroa's daughter. Her first effort failed. Then a man busted her out."

"Royce DesGagne? Blonde spiky hair, tan complexion, crucifix earring on his left ear?"

"Crucifix earring?" Maia winced. "I don't… I think… I think I see some sort of earring on his left…"

"Duly noted," Cassiopeia cut her off and holstered her weapon back. "Consider yourself free. I have summoned Interpol. They will come to assist you shortly." She started walking back to her Arosaurer. "Mount up, Kenny. We lost half a day already."

"Wait! Wait!" Maia unexpectedly came after Cassiopeia. "You will take Saskia's life?"

"An ample chance, driven by necessity," Cassiopeia replied halfheartedly. "I will have my hands on Royce DesGagne, but if Saskia gets in my way, then I will have her life as well."

"Nooo…!" Maia dropped to her knees and grabbed Cassiopeia's hand. "Saskia is not your enemy! I know her; her heart does not dwell in villainy. She wants but her zoid back."

Cassiopeia turned around, looking at Maia with utter confusion, still trying to believe what she just heard. "Did you misunderstand? Didn't you take note of my words? I said you are free!"

"Please, understand," Maia looked at Cassiopeia in the earnest. "Saskia failed to escape because of me. She suffered under torture because I betrayed her. My heart but weeps at the thought of treachery, and I swear I will pay my grievance to her, whatever it takes."

"None worth of my attention," Cassiopeia yanked her hands free. "Now remove yourself!"

"Please," Maia kept begging. "I will trade her life with mine."

Suddenly Cassiopeia drew her gun, cocked the hammer, and pressed the barrel on Maia's forehead. "Perhaps I will," she spat. "You stand between me and Royce, and you are dragging my mission behind. If you so wish to find brain upon sand, then so be it!"

"Lieutenant, take pause," Kenny quickly stepped in before Cassiopeia blew her gun. "She aided your quest. Surely she does not deserve death."

"She overstepped!" Cassiopeia snorted. "I merely clear my way."

"Yet she removed your biggest obstacle," Kenny pressed forward. "She pointed you to the right direction. Absent her, you will never catch up with Royce as he is a day ahead of you."

Cassiopeia paused for a moment, pondering Kenny's argument. After a while she put her gun back in the holster. "She betrayed her friend," she hissed. "I will not see a traitor in my rank!"

"She deserves a second chance," Kenny lobbied for Maia. "She might be of use in the future."

"If you are to come, the purpose must be clear," Cassiopeia hesitantly concurred. "Are you a Zi fighter?"

"No, but my boyfriend is," Maia quickly replied. "I can persuade him to help you…"

"No time for that presently," Cassiopeia grunted in frustration. "Royce and Saskia are halfway toward Delpoi. We will never catch them if we have to stop for another zoid." She shot a doubtful look at Kenny, then at Maia, then at Kenny again. "She rides with you. Roxy comes with me on the Aurosaurer."

"Gratitude," Maia rose and tried to shake Cassiopeia's hand, but the Rottiger had already climbed up her zoid. She turned to Kenny, "And you."

"Saskia is like a sister to me," Kenny huffed. "Any friend of Saskia is a friend of mine. I want but to save Saskia from trouble."

"I would do anything to undo my ill to her," Maia said, half sobbing. "What kind of trouble is she in? Who is Royce DesGagne?"

"I'll fill you in on the way," Kenny said as he called Cleto. "I suggest you keep up before Lieutenant Cassiopeia changes her mind."