Chapter Six: On The Run.
Herman couldn't help but notice as he lay in the shabby cot in his cell that the base he and O'Connell had been detained at was unusually quiet that evening. While it was expected to be as the clock on the wall read oh-three twenty-seven, he couldn't help but glean from the scarce patrols and even scarcer harassing from the guards that tonight was somehow different. Staring at the ceiling, visions of the parade swarmed his mind as they always had every night since. The look of fear on his mother's face, the flash of the explosion, the fire that consumed the car and its wreckage, and his absolute helplessness in watching from the towering Gojulas he was commanding- ironic; being behind the controls of an immensely powerful Zoid, and yet being in control of nothing. Tears slid from behind eyelids that were clamped shut in frustration and despair, and sharp inhalations through his nose were the only thing keeping the sobs at bay as he weakly cried out.
"Mom- I'm so sorry..." A sudden commotion snapped him out of his sorrows and into a heightened awareness. As the alarm's lights flashed illuminating the dark halls red, klaxons blared out their wailing warnings as the guards rushed out of the room, confused and irate as to the cause of the sirens. Leaping out of the cot Herman rushed to the bars of the cell door, hoping to find some kind of answer to the chaos. A single soldier, face hidden by a balaclava mask, ran over to his cell from outside the halls and before Herman could speak he was commanded by a gruff shout.
"Back up! This will be quick." The voice was familiar, Herman knew he'd met this person before, but before he could determine their identity the figure slid open the sole of their boot and removed a putty-like substance from within, pulling it apart into two pieces and placing one on the lock of the door and jabbing a small pin with a fine length of wire into it before stepping back against a wall out of sight. As Herman moved to the corner of the cell and crouched into it, he heard a sharp bang that rang his ears, then another bang some distance away. The crude hole allowed Herman to swing the door open in time to see the masked man begin to move, beckoning him to follow as he shouted.
"Come on Herman, we need to go now!" The blonde man stumbled, attempting to pin down the identity of the man in front of him as he shouted in return.
"Where is O'Connell?!" A hand clapped Herman's shoulder with a firm grasp as he gasped and whirled around to see his friend grinning.
"Right here sir!" He was no doubt freed the same way Herman had been as the latter stood tall and shouted.
"Alright, before we move one more step you're telling us who you are right now! The figure scoffed at them as he grasped at the balaclava and peeled it upwards and off, the man's face now revealed. Sharp tan features and even sharper grey eyes were clues to his identity, an orange headband driving the suspicion further, but the immediate identifier to Herman was the strange eye-patch he wore, three small red lenses mounted in a rough triangle.
"Irvine?! What are you doing here?!" Irvine grinned as he replied.
"I'm here to bust you two out of here, now c'mon fellas, we've gotta go now before someone-" Amidst the intermittent blaring of klaxons Irvine's ear twitched as he heard a flurry of approaching footfalls and someone shouting.
"Stop right there!" Groaning with irritation Irvine turned to face the soldier in the doorway who was now reaching for his handgun. Leaping forward Irvine grabbed the man's wrist seeking the weapon and threw a quick punch, staggering him with a blow to the mouth. Grabbing behind his opponent's neck he rammed his knee forward sharply into his stomach, then again in the groin, dropping the man and his chance of subduing them as the guard now lay wheezing on the floor.
"See what I'm talking about?! You guys are just magnets for bad shit, you know that?" Herman and O'Connell both followed Irvine through the corridors, with a stroke of luck in the frenzy no one noticing as they slipped out the doorway to the motor pool, keeping low as they clung to the walls as searchlights errantly scanned the air as Zoids began to grumble and keen and howl in the distance. They dashed towards the nearest vehicle, hurriedly skulking low to the ground towards the open-topped truck, O'Connell and Herman hopping in the open bed as Irvine commanded them with a shushed shout. "Keep your heads down!" With the press of a button he started the engine and stamped his foot on the throttle, driving through the locked gate, the chain link metal fence buckling against the oncoming vehicle in a spray of sparks and chipped powder coating. After a moment Herman gripped the top of the roll cage on rear and pulled himself up and over into the passenger's seat, O'Connell keeping a lookout in the rear as he leaned against the sheet metal of the bed as the cool night air chilled them.
"Alright Irvine, now that we're out of there do you mind telling us exactly what's going on? How'd you find us anyways?" Irvine shouted as he kept his eyes focused ahead on the dark desert sands, glancing behind in the rearview mirror to see the sweeping spotlights slow their pace, broad beams casting confused patterns in the empty sky.
"Moonbay and I heard of the attack involving the President, and after hearing of your arrest from radio transmissions we skimmed, we knew something had to be up. We tripped the alarm system inside the base and took advantage of the panic to bail you two out of there. We'll meet up with Moonbay in a bit, she's up ahead a ways up on the cliff top about seven klicks ahead. I take it neither of you have Zoids?"
"That's a negative, I've got no idea where they took them after they locked us up." Herman leaned his head over his shoulder and shouted at O'Connell. "O'Connell, do you have any idea?" The Captain frowned and shook his head, glancing towards the two in the cabin and shouting back.
"Not at all sir, I know about as much as you do." Irvine grimaced, his expression sour.
"Hmm. In that case we may have to borrow some from the Empire, seeing as how there's no chance you'll be safe in the Republic after this." Herman frowned at the statement, yet Irvine was right. But that didn't make it any more unsettling of a thought, being a wanted man in the country he had defended with his life for a living. The truck raced across the sands sending swirls of sand upwards in its wake, the thick tires and soft suspension undulating and rocking like a boat as their transport eventually began winding its way up a steep rocky precipice, jostling its occupants as it neared the precipice where the maroon and olive colored Zoid sat, the insectoid machine reminiscent of a woodlouse. On the trailer behind it stood a lithe feline graced with black armor with dashes of red about, orange eyes still bright and alert in the darkness. The Lightning Saix was after all this time still one impressive Zoid to behold, capable of outrunning anything its mercenary pilot couldn't outwit or out-gun. The hatch of the Gustav opened up and as the transporter stepped out Irvine hollered to her.
"We're here Moonbay!" With a yawn and a stretch, Moonbay replied with groggy irritation.
"Oh thanks babe, I couldn't see those bright headlights in the pitch black out here or anything. Herman! O'Connell! Get your asses over here, we've got places to be ya know!" Laughing out a sigh, Herman put his hand on O'Connell's shoulder as the two departed from the vehicle and walked over.
"Good to see you too Moonbay, how goes the fortune hunting?" Moonbay rolled her eyes as she snipped back.
"Oh, glorious, can't you see by the shiny new coat of paint on the Gustav and this lovely tiara I'm wearing?" Irvine crossed his arms and leaned against the ute, smirking.
"Oh come on 'Bay, it's not his fault you can't find work and have to live off me being a hired gun." Marching up to him she gave him a thoroughly annoyed reply as she pointed sternly at his chest.
"Well, maybe if my high and mighty boyfriend didn't wreck all the Zoids he's faced then maybe I could make a few credits from the parts and weapons!" As Irvine opened his mouth to retort Moonbay quickly shushed him with a quick kiss, a small smile shared between the two warming the air between them as Moonbay reached out and touched his arm, squeezing it reassuringly with a nod. Irvine now walked towards the Saix and began scaling the left front leg to reach the cockpit. At the Zoid's shoulder, he suddenly stopped and looked out to the base they had previously escaped from. Adjusting his eyepatch to zoom in he called out to the group below.
"Hey! You guys had better look at this! Moonbay, what the hell did you do when you tripped the alarm?!" The transporter looked over her shoulder as she stood ready to enter the Gustav and yelled back to him.
"What do you mean what did I- huh?!" Moonbay's attention was now completely on the base below as the ground began to rumble, as the main building burst open from a massive explosion deep within. As fire and smoke plumed outwards, secondary explosions took place as the facilities nearby detonated, ammunition cooking off adding to the deep, thundering booms as various ordinance crackled and burst, thick black smoke roiling through the air. The fire spread outwards as it claimed the infrastructure of the buildings, the blazing structures beginning to crumble and collapse. "What the hell?! I sent the signal to sound the alarm, not to blow the whole place to bloody bits!" Herman winced as another large explosion sounded off as he spoke, the dull pops and sharp crackles of munitions conflagrating muddying his audibility.
"Are you sure?" Moonbay's stare was redirected from the carnage to the questioning soldier, her eyes full of distress.
"What do you mean?! Of course I'm sure! I sounded the alarm, you two escape, and not twenty minutes later the whole place explodes!" O'Connell eyed the building with care, noting the distinct pattern and locations the explosions occurred.
"That wasn't an accident. That base self-destructed." Moonbay glanced over at O'Connell, a look of surprise now on her face.
"What? How can you be sure?" A grimace clouded his face as he nodded and spoke.
"The standard method of chaining the charges is to destroy the main building first, then secondary charges will level any outer facilities the main explosion couldn't. It was designed to eliminate as much of a chance as possible that any valuable information or equipment could be stolen by the Empire. But why do it? Why destroy an entire base?" Herman clenched his jaw as he explained.
"Because you and I were supposed to be destroyed along with it." Irvine gaped, O'Connell mirroring his expression before he spoke in a strained tone.
"What exactly do you mean, Rob?"
"I bet that the reason the base was destroyed was precisely because the alarm was tripped. Someone watching the base's systems must have seen the alarm go off, and knowing we were there destroyed the base remotely." Moonbay looked at the carnage, fighting back nausea.
"Someone... just killed everyone in that base to try to kill two men?" Irvine looked equally unsettled; he'd known how dirty war was, but the stark reminder twisted his stomach all the same. Glancing at O'Connell's shocked expression Herman commanded the group.
"Come on. We'd better go before the patrols come. I know where we can go, there's a joint military base just inside the Empire's border, the Balfurg Joint Station." Climbing into the Gustav's cockpit now as Irvine jumped inside the Lightning Saix, the group turned about and began to move south down the cliff towards the border. Sighing, Herman leaned against the side of the cockpit, attempting to get some sleep as Moonbay sang aloud her infamous song as O'Connell gave her directions to Balfurg base, the disharmony causing him to chuckle lightly and shake his head. As he drifted off to sleep, a gentle smile fell on his face as he relaxed and thought to himself. "It's good to be around those two again..."
As day broke O'Connell and Herman woke to the sun beginning to peer above the horizon, as O'Connell yawned and Herman wriggled out from underneath his friend slumped against his shoulder. They had moved from the desert to a winding forest path, surrounded by tall, thick pines and rolling grasslands. The sweet scent of rain was fresh though the ground was barely damp as Herman stepped out and murmured.
"We're still not across the border... This is risky business." Irvine and Moonbay sat on collapsible stools outside the Gustav around a coffee pot on a small propane burner. Joining them, they sat about and idly sipped from their mugs as Herman answered their barrage of questions. Moonbay shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"So the Vice President really arrested you two after all that? That's insane! See, this is why I don't vote." Irvine rested his elbow on his knee, and his chin on the heel of his palm as he dryly replied.
"I'm with Moonbay, I don't see how you two could even consider being a part of the Republic if that asshole is in charge now." Herman's eyes narrowed as he laughed cynically.
"Bishop Pullerman was a high ranking officer before he went into politics. He originally was stationed near the Wind Colony, and when Dan Flyheight and Colonel Halford had captured an Organoid pod before the Imperial army arrived, he was overseeing operations. A lot of people had said that he was pretty shook up when Dan Flyheight sacrificed himself to stop the Empire, and Colonel Halford made sure to mention their intention of attacking the colony as well. Throw that together with the way the Empire used to handle insurrection and Prozen's methods, and you've got the makings of one jaded, bitter man. All throughout the time my parents were leaders, he'd always pitch the most violent ideas to destroy the Empire completely. He'd always have this attitude of 'It's going to be us or them, you've seen what they do' and I think the years have let that philosophy ferment a bit too long in his head. Not to mention he's a dictator to anyone below him and a sycophant to any above, but now he's top dog in the pack and that's got me worried." Irvine snorted before his response.
"Violent ideas? You make it sound as if no one in a war room ever thought to shoot a gun, how could his ideas be violent?"
"Hmph. You'd call the Empire pacifists if you heard his ideas. Civilian targets, false flag operations, execution of prisoners of war... the list goes on. Thankfully no one ever took his proposals seriously, though how he'd stayed in office is beyond me. But he eventually worked his way through the ranks just like he did in the army and found a seat as the Vice President last year. He seemed to have calmed a bit on the aggression towards the Empire, but now this..." Moonbay looked quite focused, and Irvine's eyes popped in a moment of clarity.
"You don't think that he-?" Moonbay leaned over as she cut Irvine short.
"Think that he what?" Irvine glowered at the interruption.
"Oh, hi, I'm Irvine, I'm the guy that doesn't interrupt people when he's talking, you must be the other girl." The transporter shook a fist at him as she barked back.
"Oh shut up with your sassing me and get on with it!" She took a drink out of the warm mug as her partner went on.
"Anyways, you two don't think he had something to do with what happened at the Capitol, do you? I mean I don't know the guy but it sounds like an assassination disguised as an enemy attack is just what he'd be up to, doesn't it?" Herman gasped in shock. How could it have passed under their noses, just like that? The idea, that the wretched man who had just imprisoned him and O'Connell, had killed his mother. A deep wave of nausea overcame Herman as he rushed away to a nearby bush, vomiting what little there was in his stomach onto the ground. He walked back slowly now, still shaken by the prospect.
"Oh shit, Herman, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Waving his hand meekly Herman brushed off the apology.
"No, Irvine. It's not your fault. It's- I sure hope Rudolf has a position open for me, because I'm going to stop that sick excuse of a human being myself, Republic be damned!"
"Woah, hold on Rob!" O'Connell was quick to dash over and place his hand on the man's shoulder. "Listen, I know we can't go back to the Republic. But that doesn't mean we can just abandon it. We've got a duty to bring what happened to light and to prevent a war from breaking out. We've gotta do it for her... It's what she'd have wanted us to do." Herman paused with a grimace, then sighed.
"Sorry O'Connell. You're right. I'm letting my temper get the better of me." His shoulders slumped. Moonbay looked around in a panic as a loud thud rumbled across the ground. The trees whined and rustled as a voice blared from an unseen source.
"Halt! Under order of the Republic Army, you are to surrender immediately for the crimes of aiding the Empire in destruction of a military installation, and are hereby responsible for the deaths of those stationed at Leborio base!" The speaker made themselves present as the pilot of a Gordos that lumbered into view from the opposite side of the road with a great groaning and cracking of trees as they bent under its girth, foliage crushed underfoot and then even further as a pair of Command Wolves followed suit and trampled the ground. The two white Zoids were armed with their standard weaponry, though the Gordos had a pair of Super Cannons affixed to its sides as they aimed with threatening intent at the four now standing against the Gustav.
"Surrender immediately, or face the conseque-" His sentence ended prematurely as a quartet of blazing yellow rounds streaked in from their left and struck the side of the Gordos, sending it onto its side with a furious roar. The two Command Wolves immediately snapped their attention to the attacker, face to face with a great black and green bison bristling with cannons as it stamped its feet.
"This is Thomas Richard Schubaltz of the Guardian Force, you are hereby ordered to surrender yourselves immediately for the attack of four of our members without provocation!" Irvine leered and snapped a retort.
"Damn it Thomas, I'm not a member of the Guardian Force!" Ignoring Irvine, Thomas aimed the cannons at the Command Wolves as they loped forward at him snarling and shooting, poorly aimed shots whizzing past the bison. Thomas smirked to himself.
"What a bunch of amateurs, they'll never win with moves like that." Three deep reports sounded from the shock cannon on the Dibison's belly as shockwaves struck the left wolf sending it down face-first as its left foreleg was blown off, a hole in its chest and another in the right shoulder blasted out. The other canine had closed the distance quickly, rounding right on Thomas' flank and biting down on the bovine's rear leg. Shaking the Zoid off, the Dibison kicked hard backwards and caught the wolf squarely in the chest, denting and cracking the metal as shards of white filled the air like steely snow as it was flung through the air. Turning about face, the Dibison bellowed its cry, a challenge to the Command Wolf whose pilot now shouted in fury.
"How dare you interfere with our business! I'll kill you for that!" The wolf lunged forward snarling with rage and lashed at the Dibison's face. The mistake was dire and the repercussions immediate, with lightning fast reactions the bison whipped its head to the left, the great steel horn tearing up into the Command Wolf's throat and exiting through the top of its head. With a grunt and a heave, the Dibison slung the Command Wolf hard off its horn and slammed it into the ground, the force destroying what fragile metal there was keeping the head attached as it tore away as the decapitated body crumpled, red now staining the inside of the orange glass as the head bounced a distance away.
A pair of explosions nearby rocked the Dibison, turning to see the Gordos had righted itself, poor aim from the pilot proving to be Thomas' luck.
"Damn it to hell; BEEK! Get ready for a Megalo Max!" The seventeen circles on the cockpit display all affixed themselves onto the Gordos as the Dibison's cannons glowed with power. "Fire!" The cluster of guns on the Dibison fired off a wave energy that soon bifurcated into a flurry of beams and struck the Gordos all over, striking joints, weapons, and vital systems, with a groan it collapsed into a smoking and sparking heap on the ground.
"That'll show those buffoons not to mess with the prestigious Thomas Schubaltz!" Thomas smirked and crossed his arms; Moonbay's voice pulled him back into reality.
"Hey Thomas, ya done yet?!" Opening the cockpit and climbing out, the blonde haired man hurriedly scaled down the bovine's leg before he ran over to the group with a broad grin on his face.
"I've finally found you two! Do you even know how hard it is to track you down? I feel like I'd have a better chance of finding Raven than I did you, and this was just pure luck!" Moonbay chuckled and shook her head.
"Oh yeah Thomas, it's great to see you too." Moonbay's irritated response fell on deaf ears as the man's attention was quickly diverted to Herman and O'Connell.
"Herman, O'Connell?! Last I heard you two were thrown in some jail near Leborio, what happened?" Herman couldn't help the frown that pulled at his features.
"I'll skip to the details later, but suffice to say that O'Connell and I were framed and it seems the Republic is gearing for war with false flags blamed on the Empire, and apparently us as well." The young man frowned at the revelation as he cupped his chin with one hand, in thought.
"It's just as we've feared then, I guess even our intel is lagging... Come on, we'd better get going before another patrol arrives. The soldiers I've been escorting are a few klicks north of here, I came here to deal with this patrol that had been chasing us, funny that I happened to save you all at the same time!" The dusky woman sighed with a gravely retort.
"Oh can it Thomas," Moonbay was growing more and more irked by his attitude. "And get your ass off your high horse and let's all get out of here, you can brag about your saving our butts later! We're on our way to the Empire, you coming with us or not?" Thomas' face lit up with an excited smirk.
"Excellent idea, that'll be a safe place for all of us and a good place to recoup and plan our next move!" Thomas replied with another toothy grin and headed back to the Dibison as he called over his shoulder. "Herman, O'Connell, we'll find some Zoids for you to pilot once we meet up with the rest further up ahead. I have a feeling we're gonna need a lot of capable soldiers real soon. I want to head to Balfurg Joint Station next, that was Colonel Schubaltz' last heading from his latest transmission." Irvine shook his head and murmured aloud.
"Moonbay, remind me, what are we getting into now?" And with that the Dibison plodded along, the Gustav soon catching up alongside it as the growing group continued south to the border.
Chapter End.
AN: Thomas is underrated.