Post by pacwolf on Jul 4, 2006 15:04:41 GMT -5
No gothic Chaotic Century stuff. Just wanted to write a simple NC/0 story. If you like it, cool. If not, well, such is life. FYI: there is a fight with the Blitz Team in here.
Chapter One
Pieces
The illusion of water spread about the Mongari Wasteland, both as a forever-distant ring of moisture surrounding the field of view, and as waves of heat rippling up throughout the same field of vision.
Talis Johrenson stood in the shadow of his Liger Zero-X, leaning back on its front right leg. His black and brown Zoid provided little comfort in the desert heat, either inside or outside of the cockpit. At least staying outside kept the air fresh.
Having grown up in the tropics, Talis was no stranger to heat—but he didn’t like dry heat. His tan face held a scruffy appearance and green eyes. There were only two colors he wore: black and white. There wasn’t much “style” that he carried. He liked to keep it simple. He did look good in sunglasses, though—really good.
The sooner this little escapade was over, the better. He was on a tight schedule, and needed to be in Delon City by dinner time. This was no battle for glory or vengeance—it was for money; and if he wanted to make more money, he needed to defeat better teams. But, of course, that meant he needed a better team.
Emerging from the ripples of heat, a black Rev Raptor and a ruby-red Saber Tiger walked up to the Liger Zero-X. As the two Zoids drew closer, Talis pulled his flip-coin from his pocket and began flicking it into the air with his thumb.
Eventually, the Rev Raptor stepped closest, and the cockpit hatch popped open. A surprisingly large, dark-skinned man stood up and placed his arm across his chest. “I am Sambi. I am Class-S Zoid fighter, along with my fellow pilot Gekito.” Talis looked towards the Saber Tiger to see a lean oriental man standing in its cockpit. “Are you Talis Johrenson?”
“Yup.” Talis flipped the coin into the air, caught it on his arm and looked at it.
“Why did you do that?” asked Sambi.
“To see if you two were good fighters.”
Sambi raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Talis pocketed the coin, then looked back up at the pilot and smiled. “Let’s go.”
******
The twinkle of light shared the appearance of a fallen star—even though it was two in the afternoon. Regardless of its true identity, as it grew larger, it became even more and more impressive. It was a bit bigger than an outhouse, but its streaking descent carried enough power to destroy an office building.
The tubular capsule, sporting ground-piercing spears beneath it, slammed into the dry desert floor, blasting out a fifty-foot crater around it, and nearly submerging itself below ground.
Quivering as it moved, the smoking fifteen foot tall meteorite rose from the hole it just made. As a siren blew, half of its side opened up, revealing a spindly, five-foot tall robot standing at the core of the chamber. Sporting arms and a can-like, mouthless head—but having only a pedestal for legs—the white robot began scanning the area.
It was a Judge Robot. A Zoids Battle was about to begin.
“The area within a thirty-mile radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield,” began the Judge, “This zone is now restricted. Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. Danger! All others must leave the area at once! This zone is now restricted. Danger!”
Those words were music to Talis Johrenson’s ears. He had heard them far fewer than the average Zoid fighter—the only Zoid pilot to get up to Class-S faster than him was the pilot of the Berserk Fury—so he wasn’t sick of them yet.
As for Sambi and Gekito? They were washouts from a Class-S team of fighters who broke up a month ago after their leader was arrested for weapons smuggling. They were so desperate for money that they were happy to accept the ten-percent shares that Talis offered. What jokes.
Hopefully they were more intelligent Zoid pilots than businessmen.
Johrenson’s little pack of creatures stood one-hundred yards east of the judge, staring south across the Mongari Wasteland. Their opponents, the Rabid Moon team, stood about a quarter-mile away from them, looking rather nasty in their fully armed Konig Wolf, an over-loaded Command Wolf and a red Shadow Fox. It wasn’t often that you saw a Command Wolf carrying an AC cannon and Pteras missile-launchers at the same time. That was a lot of weight on that little guy. The Shadow Fox had no external modifications; it just looked sleek.
Talis made the final preparations in his cockpit as the judge spoke when a communication from the Konig Wolf came in. He answered it.
“Hello, my name is Chris Fenti, of the Rabid Moon team, just wanting to wish you good luck today.”
“Uh-huh.”
Over their voices, the call of the Judge could be heard, “Area scanned, battlefield set-up.”
“Um, well, have a good time.” Continued Rabid Moon’s leader.
“Wait a minute, Chris.” Talis took out his flip coin and flicked it up, caught it on his arm, then looked at it. When he smiled, Chris grew curious.
“What was that about?”
“Just wanted to see if I should defeat you quickly or give you a chance.”
“The Liger-X team versus the Rabid Moon team,” continued the Judge, “Ready…”
Chris’s eyes narrowed with insulted anger, “And?”
“I won’t even break a sweat.”
“Fight!”
The Konig Wolf belched a powerful roar, almost as if it was extending the anger that its pilot was feeling at that time. As its AZ-5 missile pod-launcher doors whipped open, its long-range cannon also flipped into position, preparing to fire at Talis’ Liger Zero-X.
Boy, I really got under this guy’s nails.
Exaber (Johrenson’s name for his Zoid) fired up its armor’s gears and motors, then leapt high into the air, easily avoiding Fenti’s opening attack. The Liger landed directly in front of the giant wolf, raised its right leg and slapped it across the face, leaving a large scrape.
As the Konig Wolf attempted to back up, Talis charged his Zoid for the left shoulder’s AZ-5 missile pod-launcher, and ripped it off using the blades on Exaber’s head. Using the Liger-Zero-X’ superior speed, Talis distanced himself over a hundred yards before Fenti could turn around and regain his berings.
Feeling that this was enough play, Talis extended his Zoid’s blades, closed his eyes and charged the Konig Wolf at maximum speed. After a slight vibration, he turned Exaber around and opened his eyes to see that he was one-hundred yards past the Wolf in the opposite direction. The body of the Konig Wolf smoked with damage, and crashed to the ground as its perfectly-sliced legs flopped to its sides.
Chris Fenti’s image popped up on the comm., “I, I’ve never been attacked that fast before.”
“And you never will be again.” Johrenson flicked off the comm.
Now it was time to see how his teammates were doing. The first to catch his eye was the black Rev Raptor. It moved as quickly as the Liger Zero-X, and dodged every attack thrown at it by the Shadow Fox. But then, it suddenly stopped. The Shadow Fox hit it with a couple of blasts, and jumped high into the air. Suddenly, Sambi’s Zoid pounced from its motionless position and used its blade to slice the head clean off of the sky-diving Fox! Talis was amazed. No one could have seen that coming!
Next was the red Saber Tiger. It was equipped with an Assault Unit, and was hopping leaps and bounds over the super-slow Command Wolf—but the Wolf was pouring out a ton of ammo at it, and the Tiger was getting scraped up.
“Gekito, do you need any help?” asked Talis.
“Get away!” barked his teammate. As if re-inspired by the threat of assistance, Gekito charged the Wolf, dodging every shot thrown at it, plowed into the Command Wolf, and began tearing it to pieces.
The Judge hailed out a warning. “Liger-X-34765! Cease and desist your assault of Rabid Moon-29830 or your team will be disqualified!”
But the Saber Tiger didn’t stop. “Didn’t you hear that, Gekito? Get off of him!” Talis aimed his twin cannon at the Tiger and blasted him off of the massacred Command Wolf.
Slowly rising from the ground, the red feline Zoid turned to glare at the Liger with glowing green eyes. “Are you crazy, Gekito?” barked Talis, “Are you trying to get us disqualified?”
“No, you fool. I’m trying to get you closer.” On cue, the living machine charged the Liger Zero-X.
“Gekito! What are you--?”
But before Talis could finish his question, the black Raptor sailed through the air and slammed into the Tiger, knocking it onto the ground and rolling away. Sambi’s Zoid then ran out and stood on top of it.
“Uh, battle over.” Stated the Judge. “The winner is: the Liger-X team!” The robot raised his right arm into the air, but a bit slower than usual. Talis paid little attention to what was going on at the capsule. “Congratulations on your victory, but I would suggest clearing up any further in-team disputes for future challenges.” The capsule closed, then rocketed itself back into the atmosphere for its return to a Judge Satellite.
“Sambi, what was that all about?” asked Johrenson.
“Should I be direct, sir?”
“If it would help.”
“There is a bounty out for your life.”
******
Delon City was not a city. Period. It was a row of small building set up near a desert oasis that wasn’t much more than a refuel-and-repair station for Zoids. Still, it was a great area for Zoid battles with lots of plains, plateaus and even a canyon or two, so Talis called it home.
The old repair shop that Johrenson camped out in was the best place in Delon City to torture Gekito. It was an old wooden construct set up right over a branch of the oasis. There was a surprising amount of moisture in the little building, which would normally be looked upon as a wonderful thing in a desert.
But not here.
The “interrogation” room was damp, smelly, and was starting to turn green. There was very little space for movement, and only a small chair and a three-by-four plywood table for furniture. It was more of a closet than a room. The only light came from a hole in the wall six feet up on the north side.
Talis wasn’t a criminal, but there was almost no law enforcement in Delon City. Most of the time, things just had to be done by yourself.
“So, you’re saying that Kleo Gren put a price on my head, because I beat his brother in a Zoid Battle three years ago, and he can’t stand that I’m in Class-S now?”
Gekito, forced to sit in the fragile wooden chair with his hands handcuffed behind him, spit in Talis’ face.
Johrenson walked around the table and punched the former Zoid pilot so hard that he fell to the floor. “You can’t do that to me!” screamed Gekito, “I have rights!”
“Does this look like a police station?” countered Talis. “Look, how am I supposed to make peace with my worst enemy if I don’t know who he is?”
“Die.”
“You’re a dork, did you know that?” Talis turned around and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I gotta take a leak.”
“You aren’t going to leave me here, are you?”
“Yup.” He slammed the door. Sambi was waiting for him in the hall. The screams from Gekito began; Talis would let them last for a long time.
“Where did you find this guy?” asked Johrenson.
Sambi shrugged his shoulders. “Our team leader, Makity, hired him over a year ago. I had no idea that he would attempt to kill you until two days ago.”
“Two days? And you didn’t tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
Talis frowned. “Well, next time, let me know, okay?” Sambi didn’t even flinch. Talis stared back at his teammate. “Can I trust you?”
“I have no desire to kill you. I need consistent income, not empty promises.”
Talis snorted, “Well, I guess that’s reassuring.
******
Anna’s Bar was the only bar in town, and the only place that ever saw any of Talis Johrenson’s money. But alcohol wasn’t the only reason why.
Flopping his butt on a stool, Talis slumped forward, facedown across the bar. “Give me three beers, Anna.”
The young blond bartender slowly glided her way up to him, wiping out a big mug. “You lose today, Tally?”
“Nope. Won.”
Anna blinked, then set the mug down. “Then what’s the problem, hun?”
Johrenson looked up with a bit of desperation in his eyes. “Someone put a death bounty on my head.”
After whistling, Anna started filling up three beers. “Dang, Tally, that’s no fun.”
“Oh, ya think?”
The bartender spread the three full mugs out in front of Talis. “You know who did it?”
After chugging a beer, he wiped his mouth. “Anna, if I knew who did it, do you think I’d be in here getting plastered?”
“Well,” she began filing her nails, “do you at least have a lead?”
Talis grabbed the second mug of beer and looked into it. “Yeah. One of my new teammates tried to kill me.”
Anna dropped the nail file and shrieked. “Does that mean…does that mean you’re short a pilot for your team?”
Talis spewed out the beer he was drinking. “Oh no! Oh no, we’re not doing that!”
“But, but you promised you’d give me a chance if you were ever short-handed!”
“But, but, I need a Class-S pilot…” Johrenson’s facial color was completely erased.
Anna’s face slumped with sorrow, “I know I’m Class-B, but I’ve got a Rhimos! C’mon, Tally. I’ll help you find your killer!”
“But…but it’s pink.”
The look in her eyes told him that there was no way to win this time.
Chapter One
Pieces
The illusion of water spread about the Mongari Wasteland, both as a forever-distant ring of moisture surrounding the field of view, and as waves of heat rippling up throughout the same field of vision.
Talis Johrenson stood in the shadow of his Liger Zero-X, leaning back on its front right leg. His black and brown Zoid provided little comfort in the desert heat, either inside or outside of the cockpit. At least staying outside kept the air fresh.
Having grown up in the tropics, Talis was no stranger to heat—but he didn’t like dry heat. His tan face held a scruffy appearance and green eyes. There were only two colors he wore: black and white. There wasn’t much “style” that he carried. He liked to keep it simple. He did look good in sunglasses, though—really good.
The sooner this little escapade was over, the better. He was on a tight schedule, and needed to be in Delon City by dinner time. This was no battle for glory or vengeance—it was for money; and if he wanted to make more money, he needed to defeat better teams. But, of course, that meant he needed a better team.
Emerging from the ripples of heat, a black Rev Raptor and a ruby-red Saber Tiger walked up to the Liger Zero-X. As the two Zoids drew closer, Talis pulled his flip-coin from his pocket and began flicking it into the air with his thumb.
Eventually, the Rev Raptor stepped closest, and the cockpit hatch popped open. A surprisingly large, dark-skinned man stood up and placed his arm across his chest. “I am Sambi. I am Class-S Zoid fighter, along with my fellow pilot Gekito.” Talis looked towards the Saber Tiger to see a lean oriental man standing in its cockpit. “Are you Talis Johrenson?”
“Yup.” Talis flipped the coin into the air, caught it on his arm and looked at it.
“Why did you do that?” asked Sambi.
“To see if you two were good fighters.”
Sambi raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Talis pocketed the coin, then looked back up at the pilot and smiled. “Let’s go.”
******
The twinkle of light shared the appearance of a fallen star—even though it was two in the afternoon. Regardless of its true identity, as it grew larger, it became even more and more impressive. It was a bit bigger than an outhouse, but its streaking descent carried enough power to destroy an office building.
The tubular capsule, sporting ground-piercing spears beneath it, slammed into the dry desert floor, blasting out a fifty-foot crater around it, and nearly submerging itself below ground.
Quivering as it moved, the smoking fifteen foot tall meteorite rose from the hole it just made. As a siren blew, half of its side opened up, revealing a spindly, five-foot tall robot standing at the core of the chamber. Sporting arms and a can-like, mouthless head—but having only a pedestal for legs—the white robot began scanning the area.
It was a Judge Robot. A Zoids Battle was about to begin.
“The area within a thirty-mile radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield,” began the Judge, “This zone is now restricted. Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. Danger! All others must leave the area at once! This zone is now restricted. Danger!”
Those words were music to Talis Johrenson’s ears. He had heard them far fewer than the average Zoid fighter—the only Zoid pilot to get up to Class-S faster than him was the pilot of the Berserk Fury—so he wasn’t sick of them yet.
As for Sambi and Gekito? They were washouts from a Class-S team of fighters who broke up a month ago after their leader was arrested for weapons smuggling. They were so desperate for money that they were happy to accept the ten-percent shares that Talis offered. What jokes.
Hopefully they were more intelligent Zoid pilots than businessmen.
Johrenson’s little pack of creatures stood one-hundred yards east of the judge, staring south across the Mongari Wasteland. Their opponents, the Rabid Moon team, stood about a quarter-mile away from them, looking rather nasty in their fully armed Konig Wolf, an over-loaded Command Wolf and a red Shadow Fox. It wasn’t often that you saw a Command Wolf carrying an AC cannon and Pteras missile-launchers at the same time. That was a lot of weight on that little guy. The Shadow Fox had no external modifications; it just looked sleek.
Talis made the final preparations in his cockpit as the judge spoke when a communication from the Konig Wolf came in. He answered it.
“Hello, my name is Chris Fenti, of the Rabid Moon team, just wanting to wish you good luck today.”
“Uh-huh.”
Over their voices, the call of the Judge could be heard, “Area scanned, battlefield set-up.”
“Um, well, have a good time.” Continued Rabid Moon’s leader.
“Wait a minute, Chris.” Talis took out his flip coin and flicked it up, caught it on his arm, then looked at it. When he smiled, Chris grew curious.
“What was that about?”
“Just wanted to see if I should defeat you quickly or give you a chance.”
“The Liger-X team versus the Rabid Moon team,” continued the Judge, “Ready…”
Chris’s eyes narrowed with insulted anger, “And?”
“I won’t even break a sweat.”
“Fight!”
The Konig Wolf belched a powerful roar, almost as if it was extending the anger that its pilot was feeling at that time. As its AZ-5 missile pod-launcher doors whipped open, its long-range cannon also flipped into position, preparing to fire at Talis’ Liger Zero-X.
Boy, I really got under this guy’s nails.
Exaber (Johrenson’s name for his Zoid) fired up its armor’s gears and motors, then leapt high into the air, easily avoiding Fenti’s opening attack. The Liger landed directly in front of the giant wolf, raised its right leg and slapped it across the face, leaving a large scrape.
As the Konig Wolf attempted to back up, Talis charged his Zoid for the left shoulder’s AZ-5 missile pod-launcher, and ripped it off using the blades on Exaber’s head. Using the Liger-Zero-X’ superior speed, Talis distanced himself over a hundred yards before Fenti could turn around and regain his berings.
Feeling that this was enough play, Talis extended his Zoid’s blades, closed his eyes and charged the Konig Wolf at maximum speed. After a slight vibration, he turned Exaber around and opened his eyes to see that he was one-hundred yards past the Wolf in the opposite direction. The body of the Konig Wolf smoked with damage, and crashed to the ground as its perfectly-sliced legs flopped to its sides.
Chris Fenti’s image popped up on the comm., “I, I’ve never been attacked that fast before.”
“And you never will be again.” Johrenson flicked off the comm.
Now it was time to see how his teammates were doing. The first to catch his eye was the black Rev Raptor. It moved as quickly as the Liger Zero-X, and dodged every attack thrown at it by the Shadow Fox. But then, it suddenly stopped. The Shadow Fox hit it with a couple of blasts, and jumped high into the air. Suddenly, Sambi’s Zoid pounced from its motionless position and used its blade to slice the head clean off of the sky-diving Fox! Talis was amazed. No one could have seen that coming!
Next was the red Saber Tiger. It was equipped with an Assault Unit, and was hopping leaps and bounds over the super-slow Command Wolf—but the Wolf was pouring out a ton of ammo at it, and the Tiger was getting scraped up.
“Gekito, do you need any help?” asked Talis.
“Get away!” barked his teammate. As if re-inspired by the threat of assistance, Gekito charged the Wolf, dodging every shot thrown at it, plowed into the Command Wolf, and began tearing it to pieces.
The Judge hailed out a warning. “Liger-X-34765! Cease and desist your assault of Rabid Moon-29830 or your team will be disqualified!”
But the Saber Tiger didn’t stop. “Didn’t you hear that, Gekito? Get off of him!” Talis aimed his twin cannon at the Tiger and blasted him off of the massacred Command Wolf.
Slowly rising from the ground, the red feline Zoid turned to glare at the Liger with glowing green eyes. “Are you crazy, Gekito?” barked Talis, “Are you trying to get us disqualified?”
“No, you fool. I’m trying to get you closer.” On cue, the living machine charged the Liger Zero-X.
“Gekito! What are you--?”
But before Talis could finish his question, the black Raptor sailed through the air and slammed into the Tiger, knocking it onto the ground and rolling away. Sambi’s Zoid then ran out and stood on top of it.
“Uh, battle over.” Stated the Judge. “The winner is: the Liger-X team!” The robot raised his right arm into the air, but a bit slower than usual. Talis paid little attention to what was going on at the capsule. “Congratulations on your victory, but I would suggest clearing up any further in-team disputes for future challenges.” The capsule closed, then rocketed itself back into the atmosphere for its return to a Judge Satellite.
“Sambi, what was that all about?” asked Johrenson.
“Should I be direct, sir?”
“If it would help.”
“There is a bounty out for your life.”
******
Delon City was not a city. Period. It was a row of small building set up near a desert oasis that wasn’t much more than a refuel-and-repair station for Zoids. Still, it was a great area for Zoid battles with lots of plains, plateaus and even a canyon or two, so Talis called it home.
The old repair shop that Johrenson camped out in was the best place in Delon City to torture Gekito. It was an old wooden construct set up right over a branch of the oasis. There was a surprising amount of moisture in the little building, which would normally be looked upon as a wonderful thing in a desert.
But not here.
The “interrogation” room was damp, smelly, and was starting to turn green. There was very little space for movement, and only a small chair and a three-by-four plywood table for furniture. It was more of a closet than a room. The only light came from a hole in the wall six feet up on the north side.
Talis wasn’t a criminal, but there was almost no law enforcement in Delon City. Most of the time, things just had to be done by yourself.
“So, you’re saying that Kleo Gren put a price on my head, because I beat his brother in a Zoid Battle three years ago, and he can’t stand that I’m in Class-S now?”
Gekito, forced to sit in the fragile wooden chair with his hands handcuffed behind him, spit in Talis’ face.
Johrenson walked around the table and punched the former Zoid pilot so hard that he fell to the floor. “You can’t do that to me!” screamed Gekito, “I have rights!”
“Does this look like a police station?” countered Talis. “Look, how am I supposed to make peace with my worst enemy if I don’t know who he is?”
“Die.”
“You’re a dork, did you know that?” Talis turned around and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I gotta take a leak.”
“You aren’t going to leave me here, are you?”
“Yup.” He slammed the door. Sambi was waiting for him in the hall. The screams from Gekito began; Talis would let them last for a long time.
“Where did you find this guy?” asked Johrenson.
Sambi shrugged his shoulders. “Our team leader, Makity, hired him over a year ago. I had no idea that he would attempt to kill you until two days ago.”
“Two days? And you didn’t tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
Talis frowned. “Well, next time, let me know, okay?” Sambi didn’t even flinch. Talis stared back at his teammate. “Can I trust you?”
“I have no desire to kill you. I need consistent income, not empty promises.”
Talis snorted, “Well, I guess that’s reassuring.
******
Anna’s Bar was the only bar in town, and the only place that ever saw any of Talis Johrenson’s money. But alcohol wasn’t the only reason why.
Flopping his butt on a stool, Talis slumped forward, facedown across the bar. “Give me three beers, Anna.”
The young blond bartender slowly glided her way up to him, wiping out a big mug. “You lose today, Tally?”
“Nope. Won.”
Anna blinked, then set the mug down. “Then what’s the problem, hun?”
Johrenson looked up with a bit of desperation in his eyes. “Someone put a death bounty on my head.”
After whistling, Anna started filling up three beers. “Dang, Tally, that’s no fun.”
“Oh, ya think?”
The bartender spread the three full mugs out in front of Talis. “You know who did it?”
After chugging a beer, he wiped his mouth. “Anna, if I knew who did it, do you think I’d be in here getting plastered?”
“Well,” she began filing her nails, “do you at least have a lead?”
Talis grabbed the second mug of beer and looked into it. “Yeah. One of my new teammates tried to kill me.”
Anna dropped the nail file and shrieked. “Does that mean…does that mean you’re short a pilot for your team?”
Talis spewed out the beer he was drinking. “Oh no! Oh no, we’re not doing that!”
“But, but you promised you’d give me a chance if you were ever short-handed!”
“But, but, I need a Class-S pilot…” Johrenson’s facial color was completely erased.
Anna’s face slumped with sorrow, “I know I’m Class-B, but I’ve got a Rhimos! C’mon, Tally. I’ll help you find your killer!”
“But…but it’s pink.”
The look in her eyes told him that there was no way to win this time.