Post by Panzer on Sept 1, 2004 21:35:57 GMT -5
James Smith awoke, head pounding, in a pile of fallen rubble. Protected by his Command Wolf’s canopy window, the rubble hadn’t crushed him. As he awoke, he had a bad feeling inside of him. He repositioned himself so that he was sitting in the cockpit. He pressed a button and the canopy window closed. He checked to see if his command Wolf was still operational. Flipping on the switch, he was sad to find that the Zoid only had 15% power left. Seeing as the Zoid was lying on its side, it would only do a small good.
But still he tried. He made the Zoid move it’s head. A loud crash was heard, and now the rubble was gone. But as soon as it was, he almost wished he hadn’t moved it. The Tagart Base lay in ruins. Walls broken, roofs collapsed floors littered with debris. This was a military base! It should not look like this. And destroyed no less than by a filthy bandit in a Gairyuki. Then he remembered his friends. With the debris on top of the Wolf moved, James was able to jump out of his cockpit. First, he ran to Spencer’s. Spencer was lying flat on his back inside the broken Shadow Fox’s cockpit. James checked for a pulse, but to his despair, found none.
-No… not Spencer…
Holding back tears, he ran to Stephanie’s Molga, or at least, what was left of it. He got to the head, pressed the switch to flip forward the cockpit protection. But there was no cockpit! It had been disintegrated by the Charged Particle Gun!
-NO!
James refused to believe it. All of his friends, his companions, his comrades had been annihilated by the bandit. A single Zoid had obliterated an entire division of soldiers. It was unheard of! But James knew what to do. He would bide his time, strengthening his abilities, and when the bandit made a reappearance. It would be his last battle alive.
James knew that the closest city from the base was 50 kilometers away. James knew that the military needed the land for its drills and simulations. So he would need to find something that could take him the distance. He would need to pass directly through the forest though, which might be dangerous. Many an unmanned Zoid lived there, either installed with Artificial Intelligence chips, or their cores bonded with organoids. He knew the latter would be the most dangerous, because they could think on their own, while the chips were simply programmed with battle strategies. The military had let these Zoids go because they posed no threat. If one was located, or became a nuisance, it was eliminated. These Zoids were not upgraded (most of the time) so they could do nothing if a recruit or soldier were to try and destroy it. But seeing as James was not going to have a Zoid with him, they might pose a small threat.
He hurried to take a look around the base, or what was left of it. Around every corner he turned, he found dead personnel, or destroyed Command Zoids. The first few had shocked him, but he soon got used to it. It was part of a lesson he had learned. “The time for action is the present, the time for mourning can be later”. News of the Base’s destruction would spread quickly. Even as James continued to search for transport, the government would be on their way, totaling casualties, finding out what James already knew.
-Finally! James said out loud. He had found what he was looking for. A Standard AX4B-533 Anti-Gravitational Hovercraft used for transporting cargo across the base or from town. Quickly, he went into the adjoining room. The first thing he noticed was the perfectly spherical blast mark. This room, and the five others both up and across, had been nailed by the CPG. Most of the armory had been destroyed by the blast, but a few standard guns remained. Not exactly what James had hoped for, but better than nothing. He grabbed a Military Plasma D-Grade Beam, a small handgun, and a Handheld Particle beam weapon. He loaded these into the hovercraft, pushed it through the armory’s new exit and made his way outside. Quickly, he pulled out the photo bearing him, Stephanie and Spencer on it. IT had been a year ago, when Spencer had gotten top marks on his Final Exam, which was followed by his promotion to Corporal. But those times were over. He had a mission to accomplish, and time was of the essence.
He hopped into the Hovercraft. He got out the control panel and started the vehicle up. It made a strange SWOOOSH, a the next moment, he was off the ground. He set the craft to stay 30 centimeters off the ground at all times. And he took off. He didn’t realize how fast the craft could go. Breaking 500 km/h he considered himself lucky to have turned on the protective bubble. Now he took manual control, just to have some fun. He wanted to forget the base, the ruins and corpses that were left there. He headed deeper into the forest, keeping his bearings set to the town’s direction. That was when he noticed he was heading towards a tree trunk. Using his inborn reflex, he maneuvered the craft left to avoid it, then…
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM! CRUUUUUNNNNNCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH!
James’ Hovercraft was sent spinning, which knocked it into a nearby tree. James and the craft were all right, but the young pilot was frustrated. Something was wrong. He had maneuvered the craft to avoid the tree and he was sure that he had dodged it. Then he thought “Tree trunks don’t move, something’s…” His thought was cut-off by a loud creaking noise…
CREEEEAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKK
Then he noticed it. The trunk was a bluish color, followed by a white base. He looked up, and nearly had a heart attack. It was a wild Zoid! Except this one, he had a reason to fear. It was a Ray Saurer! A high-class military grade Zoid. How had one escaped into the wilderness. It was then that the giant Zoid noticed him. At first, it seemed stun. The AI or the Organoid inside it was processing this. Then, it did what no AI unit could have done. It picked James up in it’s hand, and stared at him. In this position, James was staring down the barrel of the Zoid’s wrist mounted cannon…
To be continued…
But still he tried. He made the Zoid move it’s head. A loud crash was heard, and now the rubble was gone. But as soon as it was, he almost wished he hadn’t moved it. The Tagart Base lay in ruins. Walls broken, roofs collapsed floors littered with debris. This was a military base! It should not look like this. And destroyed no less than by a filthy bandit in a Gairyuki. Then he remembered his friends. With the debris on top of the Wolf moved, James was able to jump out of his cockpit. First, he ran to Spencer’s. Spencer was lying flat on his back inside the broken Shadow Fox’s cockpit. James checked for a pulse, but to his despair, found none.
-No… not Spencer…
Holding back tears, he ran to Stephanie’s Molga, or at least, what was left of it. He got to the head, pressed the switch to flip forward the cockpit protection. But there was no cockpit! It had been disintegrated by the Charged Particle Gun!
-NO!
James refused to believe it. All of his friends, his companions, his comrades had been annihilated by the bandit. A single Zoid had obliterated an entire division of soldiers. It was unheard of! But James knew what to do. He would bide his time, strengthening his abilities, and when the bandit made a reappearance. It would be his last battle alive.
James knew that the closest city from the base was 50 kilometers away. James knew that the military needed the land for its drills and simulations. So he would need to find something that could take him the distance. He would need to pass directly through the forest though, which might be dangerous. Many an unmanned Zoid lived there, either installed with Artificial Intelligence chips, or their cores bonded with organoids. He knew the latter would be the most dangerous, because they could think on their own, while the chips were simply programmed with battle strategies. The military had let these Zoids go because they posed no threat. If one was located, or became a nuisance, it was eliminated. These Zoids were not upgraded (most of the time) so they could do nothing if a recruit or soldier were to try and destroy it. But seeing as James was not going to have a Zoid with him, they might pose a small threat.
He hurried to take a look around the base, or what was left of it. Around every corner he turned, he found dead personnel, or destroyed Command Zoids. The first few had shocked him, but he soon got used to it. It was part of a lesson he had learned. “The time for action is the present, the time for mourning can be later”. News of the Base’s destruction would spread quickly. Even as James continued to search for transport, the government would be on their way, totaling casualties, finding out what James already knew.
-Finally! James said out loud. He had found what he was looking for. A Standard AX4B-533 Anti-Gravitational Hovercraft used for transporting cargo across the base or from town. Quickly, he went into the adjoining room. The first thing he noticed was the perfectly spherical blast mark. This room, and the five others both up and across, had been nailed by the CPG. Most of the armory had been destroyed by the blast, but a few standard guns remained. Not exactly what James had hoped for, but better than nothing. He grabbed a Military Plasma D-Grade Beam, a small handgun, and a Handheld Particle beam weapon. He loaded these into the hovercraft, pushed it through the armory’s new exit and made his way outside. Quickly, he pulled out the photo bearing him, Stephanie and Spencer on it. IT had been a year ago, when Spencer had gotten top marks on his Final Exam, which was followed by his promotion to Corporal. But those times were over. He had a mission to accomplish, and time was of the essence.
He hopped into the Hovercraft. He got out the control panel and started the vehicle up. It made a strange SWOOOSH, a the next moment, he was off the ground. He set the craft to stay 30 centimeters off the ground at all times. And he took off. He didn’t realize how fast the craft could go. Breaking 500 km/h he considered himself lucky to have turned on the protective bubble. Now he took manual control, just to have some fun. He wanted to forget the base, the ruins and corpses that were left there. He headed deeper into the forest, keeping his bearings set to the town’s direction. That was when he noticed he was heading towards a tree trunk. Using his inborn reflex, he maneuvered the craft left to avoid it, then…
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM! CRUUUUUNNNNNCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH!
James’ Hovercraft was sent spinning, which knocked it into a nearby tree. James and the craft were all right, but the young pilot was frustrated. Something was wrong. He had maneuvered the craft to avoid the tree and he was sure that he had dodged it. Then he thought “Tree trunks don’t move, something’s…” His thought was cut-off by a loud creaking noise…
CREEEEAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKK
Then he noticed it. The trunk was a bluish color, followed by a white base. He looked up, and nearly had a heart attack. It was a wild Zoid! Except this one, he had a reason to fear. It was a Ray Saurer! A high-class military grade Zoid. How had one escaped into the wilderness. It was then that the giant Zoid noticed him. At first, it seemed stun. The AI or the Organoid inside it was processing this. Then, it did what no AI unit could have done. It picked James up in it’s hand, and stared at him. In this position, James was staring down the barrel of the Zoid’s wrist mounted cannon…
To be continued…
