Chapter 9

A few days later, Kito was still simmering over the insulting treatment his Melduthra mecha had been subject to. Since his unit had no official project to which they were assigned, for the moment he was able to work off his anger by spending a fair bit of time on his neglected hobby. His motorcycle prototype was nearly finished. Kito touched her lovingly, admiring her sleek lines and beautiful form. He could hardly wait to finish her, and take her for a spin around Ghost Island.

His pleasant reverie was interrupted by the sound of multiple sets of footsteps in the hallway outside of the hangar. The door closest to Kito's work area was shoved open unceremoniously, two green-uniformed soldiers entering the room. They stepped aside, standing left and right of the doorway, to reveal a man encased in a swirling purple cape.

"Sire!" Kito exclaimed, leaping to his feet and thumping his fist over his heart. "It is an unexpected…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Lord Katse muttered dismissively, waving his red-gloved fingertips in Kito's face. "I want to speak with you."

"Yes, Sire!" Kito bowed low.

"Leader X desires a new mecha, to defeat the Science Ninja Team." Katse began, "I would like to…"

His voice trailed off, yellow masked eyes narrowing as the Galactor Overlord noticed what Kito had been occupied with, before his arrival.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing at Kito's motorcycle.

"This?" Kito was taken aback. "This is just something I'm working on, during my breaks. A hobby. It's a prototype…"

"What does it do?" Katse questioned Kito, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, it can move extremely fast." Kito revealed, proud of his creation. "It can travel at speeds over four hundred kilometers an hour. I've also given it a boosting ability, to allow it to jump over high objects, without any kind of ramp or additional lift. There's even a protective shielding that can be raised and lowered, similar to what we have used on some of the large mecha…"

"How many more can you make?" Katse interrupted him.

"Uh… as many as you would like, Sire." Kito replied excitedly. Lord Katse was interested in his motorcycle! And he wanted more of them! Now, Kito could work on his special hobby every waking moment.

"I've been thinking about the way the Science Ninja Team operates." Lord Katse revealed. "They have individual mecha, that combine into the God Phoenix, making it more powerful. This allows them a great deal of versatility, to adjust to many different forms of attack. I would like to have a number of individual mecha, that combine to create a larger, more powerful attack machine."

Kito's mind raced with possibilities.

"I… I could create the protective shielding in such a way that each motorcycle connected to the next one…" he thought aloud, "like… a form of serpent… and combined, the serpent could have entirely new abilities… enough to take on the God Phoenix…"

"Excellent!" Lord Katse clapped his hands together, bringing Kito's thoughts back to the present moment. "I'll need thirteen of these individual mecha. You have ten days!"

"Ten days…" Kito repeated. "Yes, Sire!" He snapped his heels together, bowing low. His mind was already working out the different options available to him.

"You had better not fail me, Sergeant Abbott!" Katse threatened, but Kito did not hear him. He was already lost again; preoccupied with the potential for these new motorcycle mecha.

"I won't, Sire!" he replied perfunctorily, barely aware of what he was saying.

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As they had before, when constructing Melduthra, Kito's men worked around the clock, in three separate teams, to complete their project on time.

Kito was extremely proud of what his unit had accomplished, together. They had created a dozen identical motorcycles, beautiful to the eye. Each vehicle was equipped with front and rear-firing rockets, and capable of generating large smoke clouds, to discourage pursuers, in addition to the abilities his original design had incorporated.

Additionally, there was one special motorcycle, which had been constructed from Kito's original prototype. Unlike the others, its front was completely covered, concealing a powerful drill, which was capable of boring through solid steel or concrete, and had a more powerful arsenal of weapons.

The other motorcycles could line up behind thirteenth vehicle, to create the large serpent mecha. Once activated, the serpent mecha could fly through the air, and grab its own tail, rapidly spinning in a circle, creating a dangerous vortex attack. This attack could be used to grab hold of an approaching vessel, at which point each motorcycle's wheels could be replaced by powerful buzzsaws, capable of cutting through any known metal, including Whisker.

When properly activated, the serpent mecha could become a swirling, slicing tornado of destruction.

Lord Katse arrived to examine the mecha, and watched as Kito and his men put it through its paces, demonstrating what it was capable of. Kito himself drove the special lead motorcycle, which transformed into the head of the large serpent mecha.

When they had finished their presentation, the serpent mecha came to rest in front of the Galactor leader, separating into its component pieces. The men got up in unison, standing next to their vehicles and saluting their leader in traditional fashion.

"For Galactor!" they shouted.

"Excellent, excellent!" Katse cried, clapping his hands together. "Most impressive, Sergeant Abbott."

Kito beamed, standing next to the lead motorcycle.

"We are ready to operate the mecha for you, in whatever capacity you desire, Sire." he grinned.

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Katse replied dismissively. "You will deliver the vehicles to the Blackbird training area, immediately."

"Blackbirds?" Kito was stunned. "But, why?"

"So they can train on the mecha!" Lord Katse replied impatiently, as if he were speaking to a small child who didn't understand the simplest of concepts. "How else are they going to use them to defeat the Science Ninja Team?"

"But… Sire… since we know best how these machines operate, we just assumed…"

"That's your problem, Sergeant: you assumed." Katse smirked. "If necessary, you can assist in training the Blackbirds, but they are the ones who will be operating these mecha."

The Galactor leader turned, leaving the room in a swirl of purple cape.

Kito stood, frozen, his mouth opened in shock. He had poured his heart and soul into these mecha, and he wasn't going to be allowed to operate them?

Lord Katse had betrayed him… again.