Post by Phenotype on May 6, 2004 15:00:16 GMT -5
This is the first Fan Fic I've ever written so please go easy on me. 
EDIT: I've made some grammatical changes, thanks to Tilly for pointing them out.
Dark Summer: Part 1 "Adversary"
The trees swayed gently in the hot summer breeze, the sun beamed down upon the forest like a parent smiling down on a child. Rash stared out across the landscape and admired its beauty. He basked in the sunlight and let the air brush along his face. Rash Vanguard was a large man in his mid-twenties, muscular with dark blonde hair and sullen eyes. His friends might say he was rather reserved, if he had any, but in Rash’s line of work you didn’t have friends. He heard an alarm sound from within his Zoid, and he let out a long deep breath before climbing back into the cockpit.
Rash stared down at the control panel. The radar indicated two Zoids moving in his direction, 3 kilometers out. He doubted that they had spotted him, after all his Zoid had stealth capabilities. The screen flickered and the imager produced two pictures.
“A Guysack and a Godos..” Rash muttered to himself.
They couldn’t be sleepers, sleepers didn’t patrol. They wait until something triggers their primitive A.I. and Rash knew his stealth Zoid couldn’t have triggered a sleeper. However he was confused, if they weren’t sleepers why would the Republic be using such old models? They couldn’t be mercenaries either; mercs would never use such small and outdated Zoids.
“They must be pirates,” he thought.
Rash wasn’t in the mood to deal with pirates. Several years ago he would have relished the opportunity to trash two weak Zoids like a Guysack and Godos, but he had grown jaded and disillusioned. He thought it best just to run away, he couldn’t have anyone spotting him and he didn’t have time to waste with the pirates. He manipulated the controls and his Zoid sprang to life, gears turned and whirred as the Zoid rose to its feet and let out a mechanical roar. He worked the steering mechanisms and his Zoid began to run in the opposite direction of the pirates.
Suddenly something sprang through the trees in front of him, he caught a glimpse of a large blur to his left and then he felt something strike him from the side.
“Decoys!” He thought, the pirates were merely decoys! The Empire must have tracked him down after all and now he was playing right into their trap.
His Zoid stumbled, but he quickly stopped it from tumbling over and turned to face his adversary. Before him stood a new model Energy Liger, its size and weaponry were imposing. Rash admired the uniqueness of its design, the red sparkled in the sunlight and he saw a glint of light emanate from its eyes. A voice crackled over the radio,
“Colonel Rash Vanguard! Do not attempt to resist! You shall power down your Zoid and return immediately to the Neo-Zenevas capital to stand trial for the murder of General Zarkan!”
“Really?” Rash scoffed.
“You have 10 seconds to surrender or face annihilation!” The voice barked.
“Then you’ve just given me a 10 second head start…” Rash thought to himself.
Three days ago Rash Vanguard was a high-ranking pilot in the most elite and dignified unit in the Neo-Zenevas Empire…
“10!”
Now he was running for his life, trying to piece back together what had happened…
“7!”
He flipped a switch on the console and a low humming sound began to resonate throughout the cockpit.
“5!”
He slid his black-gloved fingers down the keypad and entered a sequence of numbers.
“3!”
And murder?! He couldn’t believe he was being accused of murdering the man who had practically raised him since he was a boy, whom he often thought of as a father.
“2!”
With a flick of his wrist, Rash simultaneously activated the dual E-Shields and Particle Nullifier as his Zoid sprang forward and let out a bellowing roar. The battle was over before it had begun. The Energy Liger’s pilot had tried to jump to the right to avoid the attack, but Rash had anticipated this move and leapt straight into the Energy Liger’s massive head, striking with the electro-bite fangs and tearing out the neck of the Energy Liger. The pilot had fired his guns wildly in a last-ditch attempt to injure Rash’s Zoid, but the dual E-Shields protected it from any damage. Rash’s Zoid took one step backward, and with a mighty swipe of its left paw it dealt a crushing blow to the Energy Liger’s head, the Strike Laser Claw nearly severing it entirely from the body. The Energy Liger slumped to the ground, its cockpit nothing more than a shattered mess of twisted metal.
Rash sighed and sunk into the cockpit seat. He leaned his head against his shoulder and stared at the Royal Guard insignia embroidered onto his uniform. He suddenly felt overwhelmed by confusion and his head began to swim. Why was he being blamed for the murder of General Zarkan? What had happened to him three days ago and why couldn’t he remember? He knew someone must have set him up, and he vowed to find out who it was and clear his name. He grunted and sprang up in the seat,
“Enough of this self-pity!” He growled.
His expression became focused and his head cleared. He steered his Zoid through the woods and as he came to a clearing he had an epiphany.
“We’re going back to the capital,” he said to his Zoid, “You and I, NeXus.”
EDIT: I've made some grammatical changes, thanks to Tilly for pointing them out.
Dark Summer: Part 1 "Adversary"
The trees swayed gently in the hot summer breeze, the sun beamed down upon the forest like a parent smiling down on a child. Rash stared out across the landscape and admired its beauty. He basked in the sunlight and let the air brush along his face. Rash Vanguard was a large man in his mid-twenties, muscular with dark blonde hair and sullen eyes. His friends might say he was rather reserved, if he had any, but in Rash’s line of work you didn’t have friends. He heard an alarm sound from within his Zoid, and he let out a long deep breath before climbing back into the cockpit.
Rash stared down at the control panel. The radar indicated two Zoids moving in his direction, 3 kilometers out. He doubted that they had spotted him, after all his Zoid had stealth capabilities. The screen flickered and the imager produced two pictures.
“A Guysack and a Godos..” Rash muttered to himself.
They couldn’t be sleepers, sleepers didn’t patrol. They wait until something triggers their primitive A.I. and Rash knew his stealth Zoid couldn’t have triggered a sleeper. However he was confused, if they weren’t sleepers why would the Republic be using such old models? They couldn’t be mercenaries either; mercs would never use such small and outdated Zoids.
“They must be pirates,” he thought.
Rash wasn’t in the mood to deal with pirates. Several years ago he would have relished the opportunity to trash two weak Zoids like a Guysack and Godos, but he had grown jaded and disillusioned. He thought it best just to run away, he couldn’t have anyone spotting him and he didn’t have time to waste with the pirates. He manipulated the controls and his Zoid sprang to life, gears turned and whirred as the Zoid rose to its feet and let out a mechanical roar. He worked the steering mechanisms and his Zoid began to run in the opposite direction of the pirates.
Suddenly something sprang through the trees in front of him, he caught a glimpse of a large blur to his left and then he felt something strike him from the side.
“Decoys!” He thought, the pirates were merely decoys! The Empire must have tracked him down after all and now he was playing right into their trap.
His Zoid stumbled, but he quickly stopped it from tumbling over and turned to face his adversary. Before him stood a new model Energy Liger, its size and weaponry were imposing. Rash admired the uniqueness of its design, the red sparkled in the sunlight and he saw a glint of light emanate from its eyes. A voice crackled over the radio,
“Colonel Rash Vanguard! Do not attempt to resist! You shall power down your Zoid and return immediately to the Neo-Zenevas capital to stand trial for the murder of General Zarkan!”
“Really?” Rash scoffed.
“You have 10 seconds to surrender or face annihilation!” The voice barked.
“Then you’ve just given me a 10 second head start…” Rash thought to himself.
Three days ago Rash Vanguard was a high-ranking pilot in the most elite and dignified unit in the Neo-Zenevas Empire…
“10!”
Now he was running for his life, trying to piece back together what had happened…
“7!”
He flipped a switch on the console and a low humming sound began to resonate throughout the cockpit.
“5!”
He slid his black-gloved fingers down the keypad and entered a sequence of numbers.
“3!”
And murder?! He couldn’t believe he was being accused of murdering the man who had practically raised him since he was a boy, whom he often thought of as a father.
“2!”
With a flick of his wrist, Rash simultaneously activated the dual E-Shields and Particle Nullifier as his Zoid sprang forward and let out a bellowing roar. The battle was over before it had begun. The Energy Liger’s pilot had tried to jump to the right to avoid the attack, but Rash had anticipated this move and leapt straight into the Energy Liger’s massive head, striking with the electro-bite fangs and tearing out the neck of the Energy Liger. The pilot had fired his guns wildly in a last-ditch attempt to injure Rash’s Zoid, but the dual E-Shields protected it from any damage. Rash’s Zoid took one step backward, and with a mighty swipe of its left paw it dealt a crushing blow to the Energy Liger’s head, the Strike Laser Claw nearly severing it entirely from the body. The Energy Liger slumped to the ground, its cockpit nothing more than a shattered mess of twisted metal.
Rash sighed and sunk into the cockpit seat. He leaned his head against his shoulder and stared at the Royal Guard insignia embroidered onto his uniform. He suddenly felt overwhelmed by confusion and his head began to swim. Why was he being blamed for the murder of General Zarkan? What had happened to him three days ago and why couldn’t he remember? He knew someone must have set him up, and he vowed to find out who it was and clear his name. He grunted and sprang up in the seat,
“Enough of this self-pity!” He growled.
His expression became focused and his head cleared. He steered his Zoid through the woods and as he came to a clearing he had an epiphany.
“We’re going back to the capital,” he said to his Zoid, “You and I, NeXus.”
.