Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ ZoidDread ❯ Reluctant Comrades ( Chapter 5 )

 

ZoidDread

 

< >: Thoughts

 

Chapter 4

 

Reluctant Comrades

 

In the Zoid Hanger…

 

Brandon and his two other siblings were deep in the launch bay, checking on Zarreke, Rikera, and Kail, doing normal systems checks on their long-time companions.

 

“It's been only a few days, and things are getting…rather interesting around here.” Scott said as he sat in the cockpit of his Liger companion, Rikera. The Ultimate X Liger of the middle brother was currently in it's Schneider armor and was growling in contentment as it cooled down in the bliss of no combat.

 

“Yeah, Things are sure different from the worlds we've been to for the past five years. We've got into more fights than we can count.” Lance remarked as he worked on his Liger.

 

“Namely concerning a certain girl and a recording device. You recall what happened a few days ago?” Brandon said with a smirk as he looked at his brothers while running a diagnostic on Zarreke using a customized lap-top namely at his youngest sibling.

 

“DON'T YOU EVER…!” Lance said with a tone of warning, but he knew that his brothers were going to say it anyway.

 

*************

 

Flashback…

 

Lance was finally able to use the bathroom. But to make sure that he and the rest of the guys would have some privacy…whenever they had the call of nature. The Captain cordoned off a section of the ship for them, and thankfully that section included a restroom, complete with a shower.

 

However…it seemed that privacy was going to be a BIT of an issue…

 

Lance sighed as he was dropping his pants. But then he got this weird feeling that he wasn't alone in the room. He had closed his eyes earlier and that was when he got this feeling of someone else being in here as he sat down. He then fine tuned his senses and that was when he did find somebody in the room. But when he recognized the scent…

 

<OH NO!>

 

He looked up and there in front of him was none other than…

 

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S DECENT ARE YOU DOING?!”

 

Lance roared as he spotted Dita Liebely on the top of the somewhat older style stall in the men's section of the ship. The fact was, that the image of the redhead looking at him while only his boxers covered his privates was embarrassing enough. But what was even more embarrassing was the question that just came out of her mouth.

 

“Can you show it to me Mr. Alien?” Dita asked with a smile.

 

“SHOW WHAT TO YOU?!” Lance said as he glared at the interloper.

 

That was when Dita took out a recording camera from her back and then placed the camera in front of Lance, making the teen Zoid pilot even more embarrassed than he already could be.

 

“I heard a rumor about you men and I wanted to see if it was true!”

 

Lance tried to look even more menacing as he glared at Dita, but his embarrassment was winning over his rage. “And WHAT sort of rumor did you hear to make you sneak in here like some voyeur?!”

 

That was when Dita suddenly left the top of the stall, and to his even greater shock, opened the door and was now in front of him with a twinkle in her blue eyes. “I heard that you men have some sort of tube stuck between your legs! And I wanted to see if that rumor was true about you Mr. Alien!”

 

“What sort of tu…?!” That was when Lance put two and two together and got the answer to Dita's inquiry…the problem was, he didn't LIKE the answer the least bit. “NO! NO WAY! THERE'S NO WAY I'M GOING TO DO THAT!”

 

Dita gave a pleading look as she leaned even closer towards Lance. “PLEASE!”

 

“NO!”

 

In a flash, Lance zipped up his pants, grasped Dita by the collar of her jacket and hauled her out of the men's section of the restrooms. The female found herself unceremoniously dumped outside as Lance slammed the door shut and activated the electronic locks behind him.

 

Lance tried to relax himself as he got to calm his heart.

 

“But why can't I see it?" Dita asked in her usual curious and innocent voice.

 

“I can't show it to a woman! That's why!"

 

“Darn! And I wanted to know if it was true!”

 

Lance knew that when he would tell his siblings about this incident, they were going to laugh like crazy.

 

*************

 

End of Flashback…

 

“HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Brandon and Scott were busy laughing as they were leaning back near some boxes filled with parts as they looked at their youngest sibling Lance. The youngest brother had been right in thinking that his siblings would laugh at him the moment he told them the whole story a few days ago.

 

“Guys, that is NOT funny!"

 

“I know brother, but you should be lucky that you didn't take down your boxers, otherwise THAT would have been embarrassing!" Brandon laughed as he wiped away the tears in his eyes. Scott was also trying not to burst into tears of mirth as he recalled that incident.

 

“Brother…" Lance said menacingly.

 

The two older brothers decided to lighten up and with that, the quickly stopped laughing at their youngest sibling.

 

“Seriously Lance, lighten up.” Brandon said in a serious tone as he walked over to his brother, and rubbed his hair. “We're just trying to make you laugh a little, you should be lucky that you've gotten the affections of someone like Dita, hell, any guy back home would be green with envy if they ever saw you and Dita together.”

 

Lance gave up his anger and answered his siblings. “No, it's not like I hate the girl or anything, it's just that she, well she's not exactly….easy to get along with. Not to mention she's not all that familiar with certain things.”

 

Brandon and Scott raised eye-brows at this statement, that is until they got the idea. They recalled how embarrassed Lance was when he was in the situations with Dita, and realized that since Dita had been born from an all female culture for the majority of her life, the redhead would be very interested in learning all that she could about men, but didn't know how to approach their youngest sibling.

 

Lance had been around women during their wanderings in this new universe for five years, but in a sense, many of their wanderings had lead them into battles and situations where they had little time for any social relationships. But that didn't mean that Lance didn't appreciate the female form in the least, it was the opposite, he was very much interested at women. But Dita was different in many ways and Lance was mostly caught by surprise.

 

“Okay, but don't you think you should give her a chance to get to know you better not to mention get to know her better as well, I don't see anything wrong with that, do you?” Scott asked as he and his brothers sat down to talk. They always had these moments as they had only each other as family for the past five years.

 

“All right, all right. I'll try and get along with her, but it isn't going to be easy.” Lance said with a sigh, but gave a small smile nevertheless. He didn't plan on making enemies this first few weeks anyway. Though he knew that he wasn't the only one with difficulties when dealing with their female comrades as he gazed at one of his brothers in particular.

 

*************

 

Meia Gisborn glared at the three men, namely at the tallest of the three, Brandon Reinhart. She didn't like men a great deal, but it had nothing to do with the propaganda films of her home-planet, it had more to do with the facts that the men were proving to be very effective pilots, and naturally she was very strong-willed and didn't relish the idea of asking for help, especially from men.

 

All she had earned in life, she fought for with her own hands, and though it wasn't much, she was happy to have fought to live this long, but she wasn't going to lose to anybody…not yet, not until it was time.

 

Brandon felt that someone was staring at him, and turned to spot Meia Gisborn herself. He had no problems dealing with the enemy, but this particular woman acted as if this whole battle was a popularity contest in some ways. That didn't mean that he thought that Meia loved to prove she was better, more that she fought to help her comrades, the same way he fought beside his brothers. But he could tell that she had great pride in her, and that made things rather tricky between the two of them.

 

*************

 

Flashback…

 

It had nearly been a week since the crew of the pirates had gained the information concerning their enemies and the plans the enemy forces had to both Tarak and Megele. Many of the pirates didn't relish the idea of incorporating men in their ranks, though they knew that it was out of necessity. Duero and Dylan's medical skills and experience were welcomed by those who suffered from Paiway's still unpolished skills. Bart was the only operator able to control the navigation of the ship, especially since the Navigation Well would only respond to his signature bio-rhythms.

 

As for the three Reinhart siblings, they were regulated to serve as part of the ship's defensive forces, which they did with exceptional skill, since they had been well trained in the arts of warfare with their personal machines. But unfortunately there were those who didn't relish the idea as well.

 

This became apparent during a new engagement between the pirates and the unknown forces.

 

“All Squadrons! Switch of Attack Pattern Charlie!” Meia ordered as she and the Dreads got ready to engage a few squadrons of the same octopus style fighters that they would soon label as Cube Fighters. However it appeared that the pervious battles were merely probing runs, and that became apparent as the alien fighters began attacking in a random pattern that broke the Dread squadron's ranks.

 

Behind the Dreads were the three Ligers, and their pilots. Brandon, Scott, and Lance were not affected by the sudden changes in combat tactics by their unknown enemy, since they were quite used to sudden changes in the battle zone. The one lesson they kept close to them from their parents, was to keep an open mind and be ready to think on the move when in battle.

 

The alien fighters then attacked the Zoids and their pilots, and that was a big mistake.

 

Brandon dodged the incoming strikes from the first batch after him and cut the to shreds with his Liger's Laser Claws. The fighters were turned to scrape as both pilot and Zoid smashed through their ranks. He turned and spotted more threats, wasting little time, Brandon activated his Liger's enhanced Ion Engines and let loose.

 

“SONIC WAVE!”

 

The Ultimate X roared into battle like a comet and slammed into more of the foes that were in front of it and turned them into junk, even those that were able to dodge the attack were caught in the massive energy waves that followed the Liger, being de-atomized by the energies.

 

Brandon maneuvered Zarreke carefully and targeted the enemy units before they all could face him and his Liger. He then watched his other siblings go at it.

 

Scott wasted little time as he dodged the incoming shots from the alien fighters and dashed by them, with his blades extended, the Liger had pulled out it's blades near the sides and the weapons were now on top of the other, allowing the middle sibling and his Zoid to chop their targets into three neat and clean sections, like a chef cooking up a dish. The remaining fighters were able to escape but they were not going to get far as Rikera and Scott chased them.

 

Scott pushed his engines to max output, catching some the enemy units with his Liger's Laser Claws and teeth, and his range weapons. He then turned and spotted another of those weird ships that released the units, which had now been labeled as Seed ships due to their appearance. He knew that it would release more so he closed the distance as the ship was about to release another load of fighters and then extended his Liger's head blades. Arcs of energy flowed from his Liger's weapons as he dashed right into the maw of the enemy ship.

 

“BUSTER SLASH!”

 

The Liger slammed into the maw of the target, shredding the fighters units before they could even break free from their Cube formation. The ship fared no better as it was torn from the inside by the force of the blow of the Liger's head blades. The ship blew up into nothing a wreck as the Liger retracted it's head blades.

 

Lance was having a fun time as he was busting down even more of the fighters that tried to out-gun him and Kail. The Liger' dodged every attack from the fighters and blasted away with it's weapons and any one of the fighters that came too close were introduced to the Liger's Laser Claws and teeth.

 

Like Scott, Lance had spotted another of those Seed ships trying to release more of it's units, he quickly charged in, but the ship halted the release and instead unleashed it's tendrils to try and skewer the Zoid. Kail dodged the attack and clamped it's teeth and the tendrils and with some effort reeled the Seed ship and tossed it aside, but not before giving it a fare-well gift.

 

“HYBRID CANNONS!”

 

The charged cannons unleashed a massive torrent of beam fire, reducing the enemy ship into another burning mess, and any alien fighter caught in the Seed ship's path were either crushed by the incoming ship, or were atomized by the blasts from the Ultimate X Liger's Hybrid Cannons.

 

The three brothers then went to check on the Dreads. With the numbers of enemies reduced, the female pilots were getting re-organized, but from the looks of things, the alien fighters still had the advantage as the Dreads were still unable to handle the change in tactics from their normal attack patterns.

 

Brandon and Zarreke immediately began analyzing the battle and came up with a strategy that can win this battle before it would drag on far longer than needed. The eldest brother immediately hot-wired the data to his younger siblings. He then got into contact with the Dread Leader.

 

“Dread Leader, this is Brandon, try to bring the enemy to these coordinates we can try and finish them off before…”

 

Meia glared at Brandon and replied. “Get out of my communications! I don't need advice on how to fight!”

 

Brandon sighed as the girl left the comm channel. This was going to make things…rather difficult. But he was not in the mood to let something like pride and ego get the better of the situation. That didn't mean that he was not immune to having pride. But his years of wandering with his siblings taught the eldest Reinhart this much.

 

Pride when placed above common sense was a fool's choice. And he was no fool, and neither were his brothers.

 

“Scott, take out the enemy forces attacking from the top, and watch your tail, they may try to blind side you! Bunch them up if you can.”

 

“Roger that bro!”

 

“Lance, get ready and attack from the bottom, we need to box them in and knock them out and give the Dreads some freedom of movement. Bunch them up also , I think it's time to throw a loop in this mess.”

 

The alien fighters, along with the Dreads were confused as the three Ligers began attacking in a triple loop hole pattern, with each of them moving and over-lapping each other. Apparently the aliens were not expecting this strange tactic and bunched up into three large groups. That was a big error on their part…

 

The Ligers suddenly broke from the looping patterns. The Liger piloted by Brandon suddenly accelerated and smashed into one group and turned those that bunched into scrap. The other two groups and the first' group's survivors for found themselves being attacked by Scott, who made several passes and tore into the second group using his Liger's head blades, and the second attack not only took out more of them, but made them bunch up even more, they were now easy pickings for Lance and Kail, and the Dread pilots who didn't waste a moment to take this chance.

 

Meia was not in a good mood as she had just been upstaged by a man.

 

Brandon however was not the kind who cared too much about ego. As long as their side won the fight, he was okay with it.

 

*************

 

End of Flashback…

 

Ever since then, Brandon knew that Meia wanted nothing more than payback for that incident. He knew that he was a good and capable pilot in his own right, but his reasons for being a Zoid pilot were different, and this was NOT the time to be seeking out rivals, namely in the people he had chosen to be allies with.

 

He decided not to respond to Meia's glare and he walked away, he had some things to deal with, and now was not the time to pick a fight with anybody, namely that blue-haired spit-fire. (*)

 

*************

 

Meanwhile…

 

The chief engineer Parfet was holding a contest for a new name for the now fused vessel, since everyone onboard deemed the name of Ikazuchi to be unfitting for the now combined vessel. All of the crew would contribute their choices and in return the winner would get a year's worth of food coupons that would be redeemed at the Trapeza. (I have no idea what this place is at all.) Alongside her was the Navi-robot whom Parfet have now called by the name Pyoro, logging in all the names given by the crew. Once that was over, the list would be handed to the captain to choose the best name for the ship. One such name was 'Nirvana' which had been offered by BC. Parfet hoped that the captain wouldn't choose that name.

 

*************

 

The other men on the ship were also learning something new for themselves. Bart had been ordered to train in the Navigation Well, and get used to it, apparently the women wanted Bart to really learn HOW to move the ship, and they were very adamant about the whole idea, and that meant for Bart another six hours in his birthday suit.

 

Duero and Dylan were also learning about women, namely on Ezra's pregnancy. The two men were very fascinated as Ezra told them about Megele birth methods. Though the gentle bridge officer was at a loss when both Duero and Dylan asked her if it was possible for them to become like her when they would have kids.

 

(How men will ever produce kids independently…I don't EVER want to know.)

 

*************

 

Meanwhile…on the sub bridge of the still unnamed ship…

 

Buzam made some last minute checks on the pods that carried their messages to both their home-planet of Megele, and the men's home-planet of Tarak, when she received a communiqué from Magno from the main bridge.

 

“BC, is the pod ready?"

 

“Everything is ready, Captain!"

 

“BC, why are there two pods?"

 

“Well… the second one is for the men of Tarak. I thought that it would be wiser to warn the men of this new threat as well. We may not be men but anybody being hit by an unknown force deserves to be warned."

 

Magno considered Buzam's idea and then nodded in agreement a moment later. “Very well. Launch the pods."

 

Twin cylindrical objects were launched out of the bottom of the ship and sped to their programmed coordinates to Tarak and Megele. However, just before they could fade out of sight and range of the scanners, they were engulfed in a massive explosion. In another instant, four alien fighters showed up out of nowhere and headed for the ship.

 

*************

 

“RED ALERT! ALL HANDS TO COMBAT STATIONS! ALL DREAD PILOTS TO YOUR DREADS!"

 

Alarms blared all over the ship as Dread pilots scrambled to head for their ships to fend off their latest attackers. Their current record for deployment stood at least forty-nine seconds. Meia and Jura were already on their way to their Dreads when they spotted Dita standing near her own Dread.

 

“Dita, what are you doing just standing there? Board your Dread!" Meia cried out as soon as she got to the apprentice Dread pilot.

 

Dita spun in a pirouette as she began speaking the reason as to why she wasn't in her Dread. “It was the good aliens! They got onboard and raced out in their partners in their powerful armor! WHOOOSSH! They were SOOO fast!"

 

“What? Those three are out there already?!" Jura said in disbelief. They had just received the order to deploy fifteen seconds ago.

 

*************

 

Brandon and his brothers along with their Ligers still using their specialist armor units, they got ready in advance for the engagement. They decided to have a little check on just who or what they were up against.

 

“Lance, what's going on out there, just who's the enemy we're dealing with?” Scott asked, he knew that Lance's Liger had a higher sensor array since it carried the enhanced Panzer armor and needed a higher tune of sensor nets to lock and use the Burning Big Bang attack. He and Brandon were also armed with the same armor units and sensors, but Lance had patented the sensors to be a lot more precise.

 

“I count only four signatures, and they are the same type of fighter we tangoed with last time. I've got no signature on that mothership we fought with against though.”

 

“Only four? No backup or support ships with them? Why just that?”

 

“They must have been sent to watch the ship for an undisclosed period of time, which means they're nothing but just a scouting party and an expendable bunch, from the looks of their formation.” Brandon answered as he checked his sensors as the enemy came closer.

 

“Then I guess it's mostly one on one!” Lance said as he primed Kail for battle.

 

“Okay guys, this should be a cake-walk but don't forget to watch your backs.” Brandon said and got Zarreke ready to rip the incoming forces to scrap.

 

*************

 

A minute later, the combat alarm went off, and the three Dread pilots watched as the Ligers went back into the hanger bay and headed to the modified docks for them. They approached the Ligers as the cockpits opened and out came Brandon and his siblings.

 

“Not a bad run guys. Let's move out and give our report to the captain.”

 

“Got it.”

 

Brandon moved out and was followed by his brothers, but had to stop as he was now being blocked by a certain someone.

 

“JUST WHAT DID YOU THREE THINK YOU WERE DOING?!”

 

Scott and Lance were curious as to what was happening, but they decided to let their brother handle this.

 

Brandon looked at the enraged woman in front of him, and calmly replied. “We were doing what we were assigned to do and that is to protect this ship and it's crew.”

 

“You three went out there without any authorization!”

 

Brandon gave a curious look. “Authorization? Look, I and my brothers considered that the quicker the threat was dealt with, then all the better so the ship would not be in danger. We're just lending our support as part of this crew. We decided that our help can conserve your supplies of fuel, ammunition, and energy.”

 

“Get one thing straight! We DON'T need your help at all! And you three are not part of this crew! Have you all conveniently forgotten that you're still prisoners on this ship?”

 

“We haven't forgotten, but we're no longer prisoners, and we were assigned to fight for this ship. We do our jobs very well, and we will keep at it. Besides…you have to consider that your last battle wasn't all that good.” Brandon said with a simple look.

 

Despite the apparent lack of malice in his face, Meia glared at the elder Reinhart. “What do you mean?!” She said angrily.

 

“I'm not saying that your sessions in the Briefing Room are bad, they are insightful and impressive, but they are basic patterns and with variations. Using tried and tested battle-plans is one thing, but using them too many times makes you open to unconventional tactics, namely when your opponents don't play by your rule-book and that can be a real problem in the heat of combat. There were already several weak-points in your current plans when I checked them out and ran them through some simulations..”

 

“And what makes YOU think you're the expert?” Meia scoffed as Brandon. “I doubt you can say that, since you rely on your Liger's specialized armor to win battles. I think you rely too much on your Zoid, and you have no to right to be all proud around here. That's why I say we DON'T need help, namely from en like you!”

 

Lance frowned and tried to move forward, but Scott stopped him and whispered in his youngest sibling's ear.

 

“No Lance, let it be. Brandon can handle this.”

 

“You sure?” Lance whispered back.

 

“Yeah, I'm sure, besides that I think that this should be interesting to watch.”

 

Brandon looked on and tried not to lose his cool. “Look, correct me if I happen to be wrong lady. But I happen to recall that your Captain made it official that I and my siblings along with the Doc and his brother and the navigator were to be part of this crew until this voyage is over. That also means we have to fight together, as a team with you all. Now try to explain that to me, if you think that we have no business helping you.”

 

“Don't you give me that! You're all nothing but showoffs! You're nothing without those mecha of yours!” Meia was getting very angry with the men being given free reign in the ship, and her anger was hotter as she was in front of Brandon, as she recalled her being up-staged by him and his siblings.

 

Brandon's eyes narrowed as he began to lose his temper, however he wasn't the only one.

 

“Now she's pushing it.” Lance whispered to his older sibling.

 

“On that one I'll agree.”

 

“Are you trying to pick a fight with me?” Brandon asked in a neutral tone as he loosened his stance a bit.

Meia glared back at Brandon, and held his gaze. “And what if I am?”

 

Brandon smiled slightly at that. He had to admit that she's got guts and spirit in her, but he wasn't going to let that remark slide…hell no, if she wanted a fight, then he'll give her one. “Okay then, show me what you've got.”

 

“AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!” Meia then swung her fist, intent on knocking Brandon's head off.

 

However, Brandon, like his siblings had taken official and unofficial martial arts training back on their own home-world, and from sparring with their Organoid allies, that made them quite capable in fighting. He reacted with inhuman speed and caught the fist from reaching his face by the width of an inch.

 

He smiled a bit more. “Nice try.”

 

He then placed Meia in a Judo toss and flipped her over his shoulder like a pancake. Meia sailed in the air and landed, posterior first on the floor with a thump, at least several feet away from Brandon.

 

Both Jura and Dita were shocked and surprised on just how easily Brandon had tossed their Dread Leader.

 

Brandon then gave a bit of a glare to Meia as she looked at him. “Let's get one thing straight you blue-haired hellion (**). The reason I didn't punch you out cold for those remarks is that whether you agree to it or not, we're already allies and I'm in NO mood to be fighting against people who are my allies. If you want to fight me then, you had better have good reason to do it! Don't think for even a second that I'm no good outside of Zarreke or when I'm not with my siblings.”

 

Brandon then looked at Meia as she glared back at him. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, he could guess that all the inbreeding in Megele had brought out all the attractive qualities in women, so there was little doubt that the word `ugly' didn't exist in their vocabulary. She had a body of an athlete, and she had a grace that showed her power, along with all the curves and swells in the right places to catch a man's eyes like bees to honey, even more so in that rather tight flight suit and chest padding. Her face was smooth and creamy in skin tone with no scars at all, her eyes were this mix of vibrant blue and green, the kind a guy would love staring into. The circlet she wore namely with the part covering near to her left eye was a contrast to her skin, but it didn't mar her beauty in the least. Brandon knew this much…Meia was a babe, but she looked sexier when angry.

 

< Damn! First I'm blowing steam in front of this minx…and now I've got other things on my mind about her! I seriously need a break from all this!>

 

Brandon pushed those thoughts away from as he then stepped back as Meia got up, he wanted to make sure that she didn't hit him when she got up. The girl merely glared at him. “If you really want to settle this matter between you and me…then why not in some war games.”

 

Meia's attention was raised as she looked at Brandon. “What?”

 

“Your Dread against my Liger in single combat. We are near a planet and a small debris belt two days from now. The Engineering teams plan to stop the ship for some repairs for several hours we can settle this mess there. I won't use my Yager armor and I'll rely on my Liger's claws, teeth, and Vulcan guns. Winner takes all?”

 

In her years before and after joining the pirates, Meia was proud of her skills and she wasn't going to lose to anybody, even more so with a man. “Fine! But if I win, they you will follow my orders to the letter, including your siblings, got that?”

 

Brandon looked at Scott and Lance, both of whom nodded without any misgivings in their expressions. He then nodded to Meia.

 

“Done.”

 

*************

 

In the bridge…

 

“You want to challenge Brandon in some war games?” Magno asked Meia as she faced the leader of the Dreads in the pirate forces. The blue-haired girl came to the elder captain a few minutes ago and surprised everybody when she made that announcement.

 

“Yes, Captain. I want to challenge him to test his full potential as a pilot in single combat.” Meia said to Magno as she waited for the Captain's approval.

 

The bridge crew were getting excited with the prospect of Meia fighting with Brandon one on one. And the gossip tree-line on the ship began to really spread.

 

“Who's going to win this battle?”

 

“Meia of course! No way could Brandon beat her in combat!”

 

“I'll bet ten of my coupons on Meia!”

 

“I'll take fifteen!”

 

“Quiet.” Magno said with calm authority as she got the bridge crew to calm down. The elder captain then decided to weigh her options.

 

If she accepted and authorized Meia to go along with her plan, then it might add more fire to the tension she knew existed in her now co-gender ship. If it happened that Meia would lose, then the women in her crew would be totally offended and it would make things harder for the crew to work with the men. If Meia won the fight, then the women would never stop with their ideas of men being weaker and less talented, namely against the three Reinhart siblings, and she knew that if something went out of hand, the Ligers would immediately respond, and she didn't need a wide imagination to see what the Ligers would do if their masters were harmed.

 

On the other hand, if she denied this request, it would make the tension between the Dread Leader and the elder Zoid pilot more and more volatile. The two pilots were very talented and skilled, that much she could see and so did the rest of the crew. But they were stubborn and very strong willed, and despite their contrasting styles of warfare, the similarities in attitude made it always possible for their wills to collide with each other. If this matter isn't settled between the two of them, then it would lead to more problems in the long run.

 

She then decided to settle it one and for all.

 

“You have my permission, Meia. But keep in mind that I'll have to have say in this matter, don't forget that Brandon and the other men are now part of this crew.”

 

“Yes Captain.” Meia said while trying to hide the smile on her face, she was going to love this new fight, so she could show Brandon his place!

 

*************

 

On the other side of the ship…namely in the Zoid Hanger…

 

“You up to this brother?” Lance asked his eldest sibling who was busy checking the power readings for his Yager armor system in his Liger. The eldest sibling never said a word after agreeing to the challenge.

 

“When have I ever backed out on a promise, or a challenge?” Brandon replied plainly as he got out of his Liger's cockpit.

 

Lance knew that his brother had NEVER backed out from any challenge in his growing up years. That much the youngest sibling knew very well.

 

“You never have, but do you think the Captain's going to agree with the idea? I mean, you realize that if you win, the women are going to be really unhappy that you defeated their best pilot. And if you lose, they'll get even more into rubbing into the propaganda of their planet, which can make things really hard for us on this ship. You know that, right?”

 

Brandon nodded as he faced his youngest sibling. “I'm aware of that, but there's no backing out in this scenario.”

 

That was when Duero and Dylan arrived in the Zoid section of the ship. The medic and his companion immediately walked over to Brandon.

 

“I heard what happened between you and the Dread Leader.” Duero said as he looked at Brandon, with a critical eye “You know that we all have to work together with the women to get back to Tarak and Megele, and I personally think that picking fights with them isn't going to help a lot.”

 

The older Reinhart nodded. “Yeah, I know that Duero…but that girl…what's her name again?”

 

“Meia. Meia Gisborn.”

 

< Meia…hmmm… not a bad sounding name. Fits her well.> “Meia… Well, she's got spunk and good skills, but she's too prideful, and I don't get along well with people like that back home.”

 

“You never did, remember that instructor you had beaten, Instructor Todd, wasn't it?” Scott asked as he also walked into the room with an arm full of blue-prints and some data-pads.

 

“Yeah, but he deserved that one, you have any idea what stunt he tried to pull on some of the other cadets?” Brandon glared a bit. Todd was a hard-nosed instructor who didn't hesitate to turn a normal exercise into hell on Zi for anybody he was cross with. It took some effort for Brandon to bring those offenses to light and the guy was sacked afterwards.

 

“Yeah, but it was because you got too close to that babe Claire. He had his eyes on her for some time before you set in. But you did pretty good, getting that guy in prison so he'd stop stalking her and making life miserable for the other cadets. Besides, the guy was smuggling supplies from the weapons depot for some time anyway.”

 

Dylan then turned and asked a question to the other siblings. “Is your home-planet a single gender world? Like that of our planet and that of the women?”

 

Lance and Scott chuckled. “Nope, we're from a co-gender world Doc.” Lance answered as he checked in with Kail for some repair check-ups.

 

“You mean that both men and women live together on your world?” Duero asked, totally intrigued with the information.

 

“You got it right, men work alongside with women on any job in our world be it civilian, transportation, business, medicine, research and military work. You can bet that there are women alongside us men.” Brandon said with a grin.

 

“There are women in your armed forces?” Dylan asked.

 

“Yeah, many of them are great officers, and Zoid pilots.” < Just like mom. > Scott said with a sad smile.

 

“Do they…have children?” Duero asked the oldest sibling.

 

Before Brandon could answer the question, the door opened and in came Meia with a computer pad in her hands. She had a rather smug look on her face as she spoke.

 

“The captain gave her permission for our war-game, she wants to talk to you, and you alone Brandon.”

 

Brandon glared a bit at Meia while she merely smiled a smug smile and glared back at the elder brother. The tension between the two began to get even stronger, but Brandon ended the stand-off and went to the bridge.

 

*************

 

Later…

 

“You wanted to see me Captain?” Brandon asked as he met with Magno in the Conference Room.

 

The older woman nodded. “I did, I take it you've accepted this challenge from Meia?”

 

“I have, and I'm not going to change my mind, I did propose this match in the first place as some sort of game. The sooner Meia learns to accept the help me and my siblings are giving to the ship, the better off we are.”

 

Magno nodded as she could see how serious Brandon was about this matter. “So there's no pride or ego involved in this match?”

 

Brandon merely nodded in reply. “None whatsoever, I've learned a long time ago, that pride's okay to have and so is ego, but if you have both all the time, and when both are not needed, that they both become complete wastes of time.”

 

“I see. Well then, I guess you have also my approval for the match. By the way, Parfet wanted to talk to you about that particular match, she has something in mind to make it far more interesting.”

 

“Really?”

 

*************

 

The Engineering Bay…

 

“I'm so busy with all the name gathering, I hope the Captain chooses a really cool one!” Parfet said with a sigh as she worked on her many projects. She then turned as she spotted none other than Brandon Reinhart walk into the workshop.

 

“Hey Parfet, the Captain said you have something for the match between me and Meia two days from now?”

 

The head engineer nodded as she got out her nearby tool kit and beckoned the eldest brother to follow her. They then came to a massive capsule and Parfet then took out a control pad and typed in a sequence.

 

The capsule then opened and in front of Brandon was a rather tall humanoid robot.

 

“What's that?”

 

“It's what I called a JU-47 droid! Or just simply a Judge Unit. It's designed to be able to act as an official in duels and stuff. I built it while we were back in the hideout just for a pet project. Basically it acts like any judge over any event, I plan to use this to judge the battle between you and Meia, this okay with you?”

 

Brandon merely nodded. “It'll be just fine, provided nobody tampers with it.”

 

Parfet gave Brandon a look. “Don't worry, the Judge only can be accessed by me since it can't be activated without my access codes and a double voice and retinal ID protects it's CPU.”

 

“You thought of everything!”

 

“Yeah, I want nobody to cheat in this match..”

 

“I take it Meia's already seen the Judge?”

 

“Yep, and like I said, I make sure nobody tampers with it until the match between the two of you.”

 

Just then…

 

“Parfet, can you help me?” A cheery voice came from behind the pair, they both turned and there was none other than Dita Liebely. The perky redhead then bounded over to the two and gave a happy smile to the Judge.

 

“Hello Mr. Judge!”

 

The robot then responded to the redhead in a metallic voice. “Hello Dita Liebely.”

 

The redhead then smiled at Brandon. “Hello Mr. Alien 2, what are you doing here?”

 

Brandon laughed a bit at Dita's exuberance. In a way Dita made him wonder what would have life been life had they had a sister. No doubt they'd watch over her like hawks if they were as attractive, innocent, and friendly as Dita.

 

“I'm fine Dita, just checking out the official that'll be presiding over the match between me and Meia. What are you doing here anyway?”

 

“I wanted to ask Parfet if she could help me!”

 

“Help you with what?”

 

Parfet then sighed as whispered to the elder sibling. “She wants me to make a device for her to catch aliens. Namely your brother Lance, though she seems to be doing fine on her own.”

 

Brandon sighed with a grin from ear to ear. “Dita, I think you don't need to build any devices to catch my brother, you know.”

 

Dita then asked the elder sibling of her Mr. Alien. “Then what should I do?”

 

“Just do what you feel is right, but no devices, okay?”

 

“Sure Mr. Alien 2! Come on Parfet, let's go find something I can do to catch Mr. Alien's attention!”

 

Parfet sighed as she followed Dita, they were then followed by Brandon as he then went to where he could get some food, he was going to have to be very busy and well rested once the match began between him and Meia.

 

*************

 

At exactly two days later...

 

The entire pirate crew were ready to watch the match between their best Dread pilot, Meia Gisborn and the Zoid pilot Brandon Reinhart. This was one match none of them wanted to miss.

 

Magno sighed and hoped that she made the right decision for the last time. She ordered the other Dread pilots under Jura's command and the two younger siblings to form a defensive wall around the battle area, despite the fact that this match was official the last thing the elder woman wanted was uninvited company to show up.

 

Parfet had just placed the new Judge unit that had been programmed the simulate Magno's voice and was filled with the needed combat data and information in Gascogne's shuttle the Dreki. After Magno had done what she needed to do to make the fight fair for both pilots, she gave her final approval for the match.

 

*************

 

In the Dread Launcher Catapult…

 

Meia did her final weapons check and nodded with a satisfied smile as the CPU of her Dread gave the green light for all systems. This was her chance and she wasn't going to waste it. The time came for her to show why she was the best in the pirates, and that she will not allow any MAN to get the best of her.

 

*************

 

In the Zoid Launcher Platform…

 

Brandon sighed as he checked his Liger's combat systems and smiled as Zarreke gave him a green light. He looked at his current arsenals, he only had his Liger's Laser Claws, Teeth, and Vulcan Guns. Since he had promised never to use his Yaeger Armor, he was at a serious handicap, but then again, he had faced greater challenges in his years after the death of his father Alex and in the search for his mother alongside his brothers. He was ready for this battle, with all that he was.

 

*************

 

As the two combatants got out of the ship and got ready to meet in their designated battle-zone their audience was already there and on the ship. Both genders were already getting ready to bet on the outcome.

 

In the Dreads…

 

“So, who are you siding with Barnette?” Jura asked as she positioned her Dread fighter alongside that of the others, namely with her long time friend and wing-mate.

 

“Isn't it obvious? Meia's going to win this fight hands down! No way is a man a better pilot than a woman!” Barnette said confidently.

 

“I don't think it's going to be that simple Barnette. I've seen Brandon fight with his Liger. He's got a great deal more in experience than any of those Vanguard pilots we fought with before. And he's no slouch with or without his Liger's specialized armor, and even more so if he's fighting one on one.”

 

“What do you mean? Are siding with the men Jura?!” Barnette asked incredulously, while giving a sharp look at Rikera, as the Liger took it's own position beside it's twin Zoid, Kail.

 

“No, all I'm saying that this will be one fight that Meia will have some challenge in winning.”

 

In the Zoids…

 

“You think this fight will be quick?” Lance asked his elder sibling Scott as they both watched the fight, they had their Zoid partners arm up the specialized Schneider and Panzer armor, but they too had promised never to interfere with their brother's battle.

 

“Maybe, Meia's got great skills, too bad she's a Dread pilot and she's got this hate-the-men streak in her. She'd be a wicked Zoid pilot back home, eh?” Scott said as he checked his Liger's sensors.

 

“Yeah, but Brandon's not going to lose this match, even with that handicap.”

 

Bart then got involved as he tried to contact Brandon on comm.-link. “Go for it Brandon, the pride of the men of Talark is at stake here!”

 

Duero and Dylan sighed with glares at their blonde comrade. “Bart, need we remind you that Brandon and his siblings are NOT from our planet?”

 

“So what, he's going to put those women in their places! Right?”

 

“No, I don't think that is Brandon's reason for issuing that challenge to Meia.” Dylan said solemnly. “He's got a better reason for this match than for the sake of pride and ego.”

 

And what's that reason?” Bart asked curiously.

 

“The only way we're going to know, is when he wins this battle. So let's stop discussing this matter and just watch.” Duero replied as he looked at the screen.

 

*************

 

The Dreki had arrived before the two combatants, and had already deployed the module containing the Judge unit that Parfet had built for this match. Gascogne sighed as she guided the supply shuttle back to the waiting pirate ship, she then got into contact with both Brandon and Meia as both Dread and Zoid moved past her shuttle.

 

“Okay, you're judge is ready and waiting, you kids play fair all right?”

 

Brandon merely smiled and nodded. “No worries here on my side, Miss. Gascogne. I'm not going to cheat.”

 

Meia merely nodded. “No worries here Gasco. I'm ready for anything.”

 

“Meia, how many time do I have to tell you and everybody else that I don't like to be called Gasco?!” Gascogne said in a scolding manner as she guided the Dreki back to the ship.

 

*************

 

Later… before the match…

 

“The ship's new name? You want me to decide this?" Magno asked as she got into contact with Parfet through the Comm-link via Pyoro.

 

Parfet nodded as Pyoro showed the names suggested by the crew to her captain through his monitor." All of the crew contributed and we want you to pick one."

 

“You sure that you don't mind?"

 

“Just pick a really cool one!"

 

As she scanned the names, Magno spotted one that caught her eye as she considered it. “Hmmm...The Nirvana. Not a bad suggestion. Who came up with that one?"

 

“It was the commander's idea." Pyoro answered for the old pirate leader.

 

“Fine then. From now on, this ship will be under the name of Nirvana."

 

In the engineering room, Parfet lowered her head in defeat. “I knew it." She sighed once more and decided to contact the two combatants for their last instructions.

 

Brandon and Meia listened in as Parfet gave her instructions.

 

“Okay, the crew and I in Engineering installed some sensors in you machines, these will be used to determine the amount of `damage' your weapons will inflict on the other fighter. The reason for the sensors is that under the request of the Captain and the Commander, both your machine's individual weapons have been reduced in damage ability so you won't seriously harm each other, so the sensors will simulate serious to critical damage to your systems, and that will mean that parts of your machines will reduce in function, or will cease. That's pretty much everything you need to know, the Judge will deal with the rest of the match.”

 

*************

 

Both participants watched as the Judge unit came online and spoke to them. The robot faced the outer areas of the zone, and from the robot's capsule came numerous orbs that turned out to be sensor units. Once the sensors formed a spherical grid all over the sector of space, the Judge spoke to both Brandon and Meia using Magno's voice.

 

“The area is now a designated battle-zone, and is at a maximum of 10,000 kilometers. The rules are simple: Any attempt by either fighter to leave the area will result to a default victory for the other fighter. Non-lethal moves are allowed. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to interfere, and lastly, there is no time limit.”

 

The Judge then faced each participant and raised both it's arms as it began to count-down. “Battle-Record, Code - 0 - 79 - 67 - 57 - 0 is now in effect, all participants are set.”

 

“READY….” The robot then sent down both it's arms. “FIGHT!”

 

Both Dread and Zoid charged right at each other.

 

*************

 

Meia had already logged in her plans. She had done some research on the Liger that Brandon specialized in. The Liger was a fearless adversary in close-quarters combat, but was vulnerable in ranged battles. It wasn't armed with the Yaeger armor that Brandon specialized in so this would be an easy fight as long as she had the upper hand. Meia smiled a bit as she closed the distance.

 

Unknown to her, Brandon had done a great deal of research on her Dread as well. While ideal for range combat and assault, along with great acceleration and armor. The Dread had one weakness that totally rendered it in a disadvantage with his Liger. All Zoids, regardless of design specs had some close combat ability which meant that while his Zoid had a disadvantage in firepower and range, he was deadlier than the Dread when up-close in battle, plus his Liger had a deadlier edge in terms of maneuverability when in close quarters. Though he can't use his Yaeger armor, and that was a handicap, Brandon had more than just weapons going for him.

 

As both machines closed the distance, Meia was the first to take the initiative. Locking on her Dread's cannons and waiting for the crosshairs to lock on, she closed the distance. Once she got a lock, she unleashed several beams at Brandon's Liger. She snorted on how easy this was as the Liger didn't even change course. That was Brandon's first and last…

 

Mistake?!

 

Meia's eyes widened as the Liger suddenly leaped away from the beams, dodging them without even being clipped. (***)

 

“What the?!”

 

Before Meia could recover from the shock, her Dread was peppered by hundreds of high explosive/armor piercing rounds. The guns had been reduced in damage effects, but the impact still jarred the blue-haired pilot. The sensors on her Dread gave reports of `real-life' damage as several systems of the Dread were shut-down or decreased in function.

 

The Liger closed the distance to the Dread and slashed it's Laser Claws on the side and before the pilot could even recover, the Liger grabbed the right wing of the Dread in it's teeth and with a mighty pull, tossed the Dread aside like a rag doll.

 

“You were really expecting me to be THAT dumb in just charging?” Brandon asked as he peppered the Dread with some more rounds.

 

*************

 

Scott was laughing his head off as he watched the fight progress. “Now that was COOL! Brandon waited for the last possible second and made Meia fire first. He used the gravity actuator units on the Liger to make that move, this WILL be an interesting match!”

 

Lance merely sat back and observed the match.

 

“WOW! That was SO COOL!” Dita cheered as she watched the match continue. She was in awe at how Brandon had done that move.

 

“That was a fluke! No way could a man do that move! He cheated!” Barnette fumed as she gazed at the two fighters in the match continue their bout.

 

“I don't think so, that move was well done and no fluke. Besides, what do you mean he cheated? As far as I can recall, we never let anybody fight back when we do our raids.” Jura asked, a little curious as to why Barnette was like that all of a sudden.

 

“Well…um…ah…” Barnette stammered as she tried to show Brandon's actions to that of a cheater.

 

*************

 

“That wasn't fair!” Meia said as she got her Dread out of the spin and began to fight back. She fired several salvos of beams at the charging Liger.

 

Brandon dodged the incoming attacks and merely answered. “I don't recall any rules being given in this match, and since I don't think our enemies will play by anybody's rule-book but their own, I'm very much free to use any tactic I can manage to win this fight. So quit wasting time and get serious.”

 

With that the Liger moved around the Dread, dodging more beam attacks and slammed on top of the Dread, and leaping back while raking the roof of the Dread with it's claws.

 

Meia however wasn't going to back down. Quickly jetting her Dread to full acceleration, she gained a considerable distance from the charging Liger. She quickly routed power to her Dread maneuvering systems, quickly turning the Dread and launched a barrage of weapons-fire.

 

The beams slammed into the side of the Liger, making the Zoid lurch and roar in pain. Despite the reduction of weapons damage from Meia's weapons, the sensor plates made the Liger's Zoid Core react as if it had been seriously attacked.

 

Meia wasted no time and quickly accelerated and strafed the Liger with some more blasts, while quickly turning to avoid a charge attack from the Zoid. Meia realized that if she tried to move aside the Dread at a close distance, then Brandon would have a clean shot at her when she passed him and his Zoid.

 

Brandon had to admit that Meia caught him and Zarreke by surprise. He forgot that despite the Dread's weakness at close-range combat, it's acceleration capabilities gave it an advantage in escape. Looks like he would have to work extra hard to tag Meia out of this match.

 

< Now things are getting interesting. >

 

*************

 

“That's it! Show that man something!” Barnette said as she applauded the attack. That ought to tell Brandon not to take Meia lightly!

 

“Meia did pretty good there, she accelerated before Brandon could get close enough to attack.” Jura commented as she watched the fight progress.

 

“Nice move…that was a great trick Meia pulled on brother.” Lance commented as he and his other sibling watched the fight progress.

 

“Yeah, but I doubt it's going to work twice.” Scott answered as he watched the match progress.

 

*************

 

And true to Scott's expectations, that trick DIDN'T work twice. Meia tried to accelerate when she was about to turn and fire, but Brandon fires several salvos of bullets at the Dread, the impact of the weapons caused the Dread to shake, and lose some of it's acceleration, resulting in the elder Reinhart to close the distance and slash the Dread with the Laser Claws.

 

But before Brandon could get a grip on the Dread with Zarreke's teeth, Meia quickly rolled her Dread in a full 360 degree spin, making the Liger miss it's target, and move away from the Liger. She quickly retaliated and with some effort fired some more rounds at the Zoid, hitting the Liger in the lower gut once she punched her Dread's thrust power to full and turned quickly.

 

Meia smiled a bit as she saw her weapons hit the Liger, but the damage to her Dread had increased. Her maneuverability was decreased, and her Dread's response systems had taken another beating. The smile faded as Meia once more concentrated on winning the match. Though she had to admit on thing, this was one heck of a work-out.

 

Brandon grinned at Meia's trick, he hadn't expected the duck and roll move from a Dread, and especially considering the distance. This was getting to an interesting match, he never had to fight this hard before, and it felt…great.

 

Both Liger and Dread then turned to face each other as both pilots took some time to relax and face each other.

 

*************

 

In the newly named Nirvana Bridge…

 

“Well, this is turning out to be quite the battle.” Magno commented as she watched the fight progress between Meia and Brandon. “I never expected to see Meia this challenged before.”

 

BC nodded. “Yes, Brandon is an exceptional pilot, and it is no surprise he can hold his own with Meia. I guess had he been a Vanguard pilot of Talark with his current level of skill and experience, he'd be considered elite.”

 

“The two may have some issues with each other…but if they work as a pair, they'd be lethal.” Magno said with a smile as the two machines then launched towards each other.

 

*************

 

Both Liger and Dread then engaged each other in a display of speed and skill. Meia would evade and dodge every close attack Brandon and Zarreke would throw at her and strike back. But Brandon too would respond and evade Meia's attacks as well, and strike back with moves and maneuvers that put any Vanguard to shame.

 

The two pilots now found themselves fighting in a match with a very tenacious and talented opponent. And they each knew that they would have to fight with every trick they knew and learned over the years.

 

< Got to admit, this is turning out to one heck of a match. Meia's got great skills and experience. Not to mention she's got some serious moves! But one thing's for sure…I'm NOT going to go down without a fight!>

 

<Damn! No matter what move I use, that…MAN can do better! He's far better than any person I know with that Liger of his. But there's one thing I'm sure about in this battle. There's NO way in this universe I'll give up!>

 

Both pilots checked the condition of their respective mecha.

 

Meia checked her Dread and saw that maneuverability was down at least fifty percent, hull integrity was down by seventy percent, and weapons were also damaged, along with a strong decrease in her Dread's sensors. Though these were simulated, she had never suffered this kind of damage in her whole years as a Dread pilot. Brandon certainly gave her a run for her money and then some…

 

Brandon checked his Liger and saw that Zarreke's armor was down by forty percent, but maneuverability was down by seventy percent. His Liger's response time was decreased, along with hydraulics and motor integrity. Though these too were simulated, he had to admit, this was the first time he had to fight this hard before. Meia was no fool, and she was tough…

 

Both pilots decided to discard the reports and go at each other one more time. And this time both of them thought the same thing.

 

<I'm going to WIN!>

 

*************

 

“Man, this fight's turned serious. I never saw big brother this determined before.” Lance commented as the Liger and Dread once more closed the distance.

 

Scott nodded. “Yep, Meia and Brandon have got some serious talents, and I guess they both know it. This time however, these next few minutes will determine just who's going to win.”

 

“WOW! I wonder who's going to win between Meia and Mr. Alien 2?” Dita chirped as the two machines and their pilots once more closed the distance.

 

Barnette had been silent and didn't answer her red-haired comrade for a few minutes. She had to admit…though very reluctantly, that Brandon Reinhart was a devastating opponent and NOT to be taken lightly. She also watched as Meia closed the gap between her Dread and the silver armored Liger, hoping that Meia came out on top.

 

“I'll say this much, whoever hits with the next attack, is undoubtedly the winner. That person deserves it.” Jura said with awe as the two pilots closed the gap. She was right that these men were never to be underestimated, and now, the real moment of victory was about to begin.

 

*************

 

Meia took the chance and fired several salvos at Brandon to throw the Liger pilot off-balance. She hoped that when the Liger dodged the attack she could side swipe past him and then hit the Zoid from above or from the side, ending the fight.

 

Brandon seemed to relax as if he knew that this fight was truly the last and made no move to dodged the attack or so everybody thought.

 

The Liger didn't make a move as the beams closed in, making Meia believe that Brandon had decided to do the same move as before, and this time she wasn't going to wait. She then punched her Dread's acceleration and began to climb upwards. That was when she got a serious surprise.

 

The Liger DID make the same move, but NOT in the same fashion! The Zoid leaped over the beams, but instead of moving to slash the Dread at the side as before. The Zoid actually ignited it's boosters, making the Zoid roll…just at the same instant that Meia pulled her Dread to climb…

 

Exposing her fighter's underside!

 

Meia realized her mistake, but not in time as the Liger extended itself in mid spin back to lunging form. Brandon gunned every energy unit he could spare into this burst and slammed his Liger on the Dread front paws first!

 

The impact jostled Meia in the cockpit, and that rendered her unable to block the attacks that followed. Brandon dug his Liger's claws into the Dread's armor and began slashing at the underside of the Dread quickly but precisely near the engines. The Zoid then lunged it's teeth on the middle of the Dread and with a quick spin tossed the Dread aside.

 

As the two machines were still in their motions, the Liger corrected itself in time and then fired more Vulcan bullets at the now exposed underside of the Dread…causing more damage to the now stricken fighter. Brandon once more punched his boosters to full and then once more slashed out with his Liger's Laser Claws, this time slashing the left engine of the Dread.

 

Meia tried desperately to recover and was able to escape the attack in time, but her Dread's acceleration had been severely decreased by the latest attack. She was now able to right her Dread, but her fighter's ability to accelerate was nearly gone and most of the systems were about to lock-down. As she looked at her view-screen she was shocked to find the Zoid closing in, and the Liger's teeth nearly closing in, considering the area of difference, had this been a real fight, her opponent was in the right position to rip her Dread apart, cockpit first!

 

She wasn't going to give up…she powered her Dread's cannons and began to aim. Sure the distance meant that she might not fire in time, but she wasn't going down without a fight!

 

Unfortunately, or rather…fortunately, they were going to have to work together. WHETHER they liked it or not.

 

*************

 

The bridge…

 

“Captain! We have incoming signals…they seem to be the enemy!” Belvedere called out as she tracked a considerable bunch of signals heading their way.

 

“How many?” BC asked as she went back to commanding the pirate defense forces, though she wondered what would have happened if they were not disturbed.

 

“We count at least ten squadrons of those Cube Fighter types, at least one Seed Ship….and two unknown signatures we have not yet identified.” Ezra reported as she and the others in the bridge tracked their unwelcome guests.

 

Magno nodded as she got into the communications system with the Dreads and the Zoids outside and also contacted Parfet. Play-time sadly was over.

 

*************

 

Meia and Brandon were suddenly stunned as Magno's voice came over their comm.-links.

 

“Sorry you two, but you'll have to postpone your match, we've got some company to deal with!”

 

Both the Dread pilot and Zoid pilot turned as they spotted the incoming forces of their enemies. Though they didn't show it, they were seriously ticked off at having their match disrupted. Brandon however dropped the feeling and went back to fighting.

 

*************

 

As the enemy closed in, the crew of the Nirvana were able to spot their real opponents, and then spotted their enemy's latest weapons. The two ships looked like a mass of spheres all forming a massively bumped up looking fighter. As the Dreads attacked, the reason for the pair's odd appearance became obvious as tendrils appeared and became razor-sharp spines then surrounded the ships…making them look like…

 

*************

 

“Sea urchin? How disgusting!" Jura commented as she directed her Dread into a strafing pattern attack against one of the new alien ships. She was immediately followed by her best friend Barnette who also launched her own barrage of missiles against the target. However, the spines immediately became jagged and started rotating even faster. The missiles fired by Barnette were immediately brushed aside by the spines leaving the main body unharmed, as the missiles exploded harmlessly into space.

 

“No good! We can't get close enough to it for a direct shot!" Barnette called out as she moved her Dread away from the fray for move maneuvering room along with Jura. The other Dread pilots found that out as their own missiles were deflected by the other ship.

 

Then the spines from both ships became straight and were suddenly launched outward like over-sized high velocity darts. A few of the Dreads were caught unaware by the sudden attack, getting hit and placed out of action. The still operational Dreads immediately attacked in hopes of taking the ships out. However, the machines rapidly extended more spines and began spinning them again, causing the next barrage of missiles to totally miss and explode without any effect.

 

The Cube Fighters came into play as they attacked the Dreads. The pirates found themselves in a rather tricky situation and they needed tow other pilots to win this fight quickly!

 

**************

 

In Zarreke…

 

Brandon shook his head in disgust as the fight continued. “The situation doesn't look good."

 

The Ultimate X Liger also growled in agreement as well as they watched the battle unfold. With the Cube Fighters running interference and defense, and the Dreads being unable to attack the new alien attack ship due to it's defenses, it seemed that the pirates were now fighting a one-sided battle with them at the losing side. Brandon checked and noted that several of the Dreads were knocked out of the action. It wouldn't be long when the enemy would make their assault on the ship itself.

 

“Those Dreads aren't going to last much longer. Not to mention the fact that the current battle tactics they're using are now useless. We've got to move in now!" Lance said as he sighed and shook his head at the scene.

 

“Yeah, those ships have some serious weapons to go with the looks. The first mode is for defense against missiles, the second for range and the last is for melee…Look.” Scott said as the two urchin-like ships launched their attacks on the Nirvana. The Dreads were being hit hard by the Cube Fighters, allowing the urchin ships to attack the Nirvana.

 

“Okay, you guys deal with the enemy, I'll join you once I've talked to Parfet.”

 

“What for?”

 

“You'll see.”

 

**************

 

The bridge…

 

“It appears that the enemy has adapted to our current battle tactics." BC remarked with a dark frown. She too had been watching the battle unfold through the tactical display as the Dread teams were reduced to half their original number. Several of the Cube Fighters have now broken in through the ranks of the Dreads and were now attacking the ship itself alongside their new comrades.

 

Magno nodded. “Yes. It's as we thought would happen sooner or later. I thought that those battles we were in before were too easy. So they were actually probing our strengths and weaknesses. They now know how we will react and they've learned how to counter us.” She then got into contact with the engineering section. "Parfet, have you found any weapons on the ship we can use yet?"

 

The engineer shook her head as she responded to the captain's inquiry. “Captain, we've gotten no luck, it's almost as if the ship's been stripped of most offensive weapons at all! At this rate, I'll settle for even a potato gun!"

 

It was then that the ship shuddered violently. The large alien urchin vessels, much to the predictions of the three Reinhart siblings were now using their spines' third ability as both had broken through the defensive lines and now used the spines which were still jagged to attack the pirate vessel. That one pass made by the ship alone had caused massive structural damage to both the port arm and the hull as it raked through the ship.

 

In the navigational well, Bart was screaming in pain as a large gash appeared on his left arm, as the cybernetic-neural link to him and to the ship was still active. He too wanted something…ANYTHING to fight back with! But ever since the fighting had started he had been trying to move the Nirvana away, but the blasted urchin ships were in no mood to let them move out of the battle-zone.

 

Brandon came into contact with the bridge. “I'd appreciate it if Parfet can deactivate the sensor pads on Zarreke so I can fight better. My brothers are already in the front, so I'll need to get there too. Do the same for Meia as well, she'll need it.”

 

**************

 

“Listen Meia, I'm going to release a tow cable to get you back to safer territory until Parfet can deactivate the…”

 

“Shut up! I don't help from you!” Meia gripped, no way was she going to lose and ask Brandon for help. It was bad enough she was nearly beaten, it would be even more humiliating to be relying on a man for help.

 

Brandon gritted his teeth and spoke in a very controlled tone of voice. “Listen, either you let me help you, or the next attacks are NOT coming from my reduced weapons.” He then began receiving the codes to deactivate the sensors. He then tore apart several Cube Fighters with the Laser Claws. Despite the reduction in damage power, the Liger's melee weapons were still devastating. Odds like these were okay for Brandon and Zarreke, but with a wounded comrade in tow, things were not looking good. The sensors also were designed to inhibit him from using the Yaeger Armor, as soon as they were offline, he'd really go at it.

 

Meia was in anger as she realized that her safety and well-being now depended on…HIM. It was difficult enough for her that Brandon was very much her equal and nearly defeated her at the last few moments of their war-game, it was even more so that she now had to rely on him to protect her in this state! She decided to hurry and wait for Parfet to download the deactivation codes for the sensors of her Dread.

 

*************

 

“We have to hurry, transmit the deactivation codes for the sensors on both Zarreke and Meia's Dread!” Parfet said as she and her crew tried to repair and contain the damage to the Nirvana.

 

“I'm on it, the codes are being transmitted now!” One of the engineering staff said as she began to download the codes to both the Ultimate X Zoid and the Paeksis enhanced Dread. It was when the tech realized that something was wrong…

 

“Oh no! Meia's receiver's been damaged in the fight, she's only got ten percent of the codes!”

 

*************

 

Brandon watched as the codes were being downloaded, but he was no mood to wait as the fighting intensified. He then got to speak to Zarreke.

 

“Zarreke, perform a full override on the sensors, the sooner they're offline, the better off we'll be! Keep the codes so we can transmit them to Meia once we've connected a data-exchange cable to her!”

 

The Liger's Organoid core nodded as it began to glow in a fierce blue light. The Liger then began to glow briefly, and then moved and reacted as if it was never even damaged during the whole match with Meia's Dread. The Liger then swatted away several enemy units as it then activated it's Yaeger armor. The white armor disappeared and was now replaced by the blue sections of armor Brandon specialized in.

 

*************

 

Parfet was amazed as the Liger was now free from the effects of the sensors. She then recalled the Zoid's Organoid system, and surmised that the Organoid system had overridden the sensors and used the codes. She quickly turned and spoke to the other tech who was still trying to download the codes to Meia's Dread.

 

“Any luck with Meia's codes?”

 

“Nothing, we can send some of the codes, but the damage to the receiver in her Dread's making it very hard to do just that! She only has fifty percent of the full codes in her data-drive!”

 

*************

 

“Come on…please work.”

 

Meia gritted her teeth and pleaded as she waited for the codes to be downloaded to her Dread's CPU. It however was no cake-walk as the downloading was slow, and she still had to rely on Brandon's protection as the Liger stayed close to her Dread to protect it while it was still under the influence of the sensors.

 

*************

 

Brandon's siblings and their Zoids were still busy fighting with the Cube Fighters. Several Cube Fighters were torn apart by the Schneider Blades of Scott's Ultimate X Liger as he rushed through their formations. He then locked all his Liger's head blades and struck another squadron of Cube Fighters.

 

“BUSTER SLASH!”

 

More Cube Fighters were quickly torn up by the impact of Rikera's charge into their formation, and those that tried to escape were either caught in the Liger's teeth or were shredded by the extended side blades of the Liger's Schneider armor.

 

Lance was busy raining down a barrage of weapons fire at the Cube Fighters, making it look as if he was in a giant sized shooting gallery. Wrecks of the alien fighters were all in front of the Liger, and aside it, as some tried to attack at point blank, but were greeted by Kail's Laser Claws and teeth.

 

“HYBRID CANNONS!”

 

Two beams of high intensity energy lanced outwards, ionizing the Cube Fighters that were in the firing path. They were destroyed instantly, along with those nearby as the cannons' firepower ionized the area around the firing path, making sure any target that was NOT locked on was still in cinders.

 

Despite this, the enemy still pressed the attack. With the enemy's new mother ship units attacking the Nirvana, and causing more damage, the pirates and their male allies had to pump out more energy to attack and defend at the same time. But thanks to the arrival of both Ultimate X Zoids the attacks of the urchins were halted on the Nirvana, but instead, they focused on the Reinhart siblings and their Zoids.

 

The sea urchins then unleashed a massive barrage of spines at the approaching Zoids, but the spines missed as the Ligers leaped aside and kept on charging. It seemed that the enemy machines was now destined to become junk as soon as Rikera activated it's nine blades, while Kail armed up it's Hybrid Cannons.

 

“NINTH BLADE ASSAULT!”

 

“HYBRID CANNONS!”

 

However at the last moment, the machines managed to barely dodge the attack by moving to the right, causing both Ligers to miss their intended attacks and the machines were able to harmlessly pass by.

 

*************

 

Brandon was getting more and more angry as he watched the battle, he then calmed himself as he then got into contact with Meia.

 

“Meia, standby, I'll release a data exchange cable to connect wit your Dread, I'll download the codes for your Dread's CPU.”

 

“I said…I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!”

 

Meia shouted once more as she tried desperately to download the codes herself. But it was then that her rational side began to tell her that now wasn't the time to be choosy. Her fellow women were in danger and time was against them all. So…she swallowed her pride can called Brandon again.

 

“Fine…I'll get ready to receive the rest of the codes. Just hurry up!”

 

Brandon sighed in exasperation. “Geez, it's only NOW she wants me to help her…women sometimes are so difficult to understand.”

 

“What was that?!”

 

“Never mind! I'm releasing the cable now.”

 

The Liger released from it's side a cable which connected to the Dread, as it began to tow away the Megele interceptor to take it to safer areas while the codes were being downloaded to it's CPU. Brandon and Zarreke were busy protecting the Dread until the transaction was complete.

 

Meia was happy a few seconds later as the CPU was back to normal and then gave the signal to Brandon that it was finished, so the pilot retracted the cable. Now both Dread and Liger got into the act, but not before Brandon typed in a command sequence for Parfet to install in the Judge.

 

*************

 

The fighting began to intensify, namely with the arrival of both Brandon and Meia into the side of the pirates. The two former opponents were now mixing it up as they clashed with the enemy, relieving some of the pressure off the Dreads, and Brandon's siblings. The two urchin like ships were then driven back, right into where Brandon and Meia had battled. When the enemy had crashed the party, the Judge had been deactivated by Parfet and the robot was hidden in the capsule which resisted almost all attempts by the Cube Fighters to destroy it.

 

Dita and Lance then decided to at least take out the Seed ship from deploying more of the Cube Fighters, this was the first time Lance had asked the redhead to combine with him. And the redhead was more than eager to do just that.

 

Both Dread and Liger formed into the devastating ZoidDread Dita. The enhanced Dread/Zoid then aimed at the remaining Cube Fighters with the cockpit of the new mecha now with the multiple targeting computers and the Cube Fighters were now lit with targeting markers.

 

Lance nodded as he checked the targeting coordinates once more. He then spoke to Kail with Dita in tow.

 

“Kail, time to give a whole new meaning to the term `Fireworks Party'!”

 

The Liger roared in consent as the redhead looked on in awe at the cockpit which was now filled with images of the enemy with target sights on them. “Wow! Now take this you bad aliens!”

 

Both shouted at the same time as Kail roared out.

 

“NOVA STORM!”

 

The Liger unleashed another powerful barrage of missiles and with a few extra additions, as the beam cannons on the Liger's back suddenly opened and launched another blinding barrage of beam fire. The combined missiles and beam fire reduced all the Cube Fighters into nothing but scrap and flaming wreckage.

 

The enhanced Ultimate X Liger then faced the Seed Ship which tried to fire it's tendrils, but those were easily dodged by both Dita and Lance. The Liger then slashed the tendrils and aimed it's beam cannons at the Seed Ship. The Liger then opened up it's cannons, and to the amazement of the watchers, the beam blades then went to the back and merged with the beam cannons, making the outermost appear bigger and stronger.

 

“ENERGY LANCE!!”

 

The beams from the super-charged cannons blasted through the Seed Ship and atomized it. This time, unlike the wreckage that was able to recover before being torn apart by Brandon and Lance. This Seed Ship was not as lucky as it was now turned into a mess of debris and flaming rubble.

 

“All right!” both Lance and Dita called out as they eliminated the Seed Ship. But this time, the enemy wasn't going to let this attack slide as both urchin ships began to converge at high speed towards the ZoidDread, no doubt to rend and tear the ZoidDread to pieces.

 

“LANCE!”

 

“DITA!”

 

Both Brandon and Meia shouted out as they rushed to save their comrades. Meia wanted to save Dita, while Brandon was rushing to save his youngest sibling. They were able to arrive in time and both managed to knock the ZoidDread away, but not without being hit by the urchin ships. The urchin ships broke from their attack but fired their spines at the new Liger and Dread. The impact caused some damage to both machines and sent them tumbling about.

 

“BROTHER!” Both younger siblings shouted as they saw Brandon and Zarreke hit.

 

“MEIA!” The Dread pilots shouted, along with Dita, Jura, and Barnette. The bridge crew were also in shock and fear at seeing Meia hit by the enemy. Magno and BC watched as both Dread and Liger were hit. However they were still intact, though damaged as they were now heading towards each other.

 

“There's no way…" Meia shouted out.

 

"… I am going to let that machine beat me!!" Brandon declared in a fierce voice.

 

It was then that the same process that caused Lance's Liger Kail to merge with Dita's Dread went into effect as well, as both Brandon and Meia turned into a new force of power. Meia's Dread swallowed up Zarreke and began to shift it's own form, the entire craft began to break into several sections and grafted themselves over the Yaeger armor. The cockpit expanded and covered the face of the Liger like a battle mask made of pure silver armor. The body was also decked in silver, with the Dread's wings merging with the sides of the Liger, they then retracted, giving the Liger short wings. The engines of the Dread now fused with that of the Charged Ion engines of the Yaeger armor, making them larger but no less streamlined for maximum speed and power. The Yaeger armor, after merging with Meia's Dread, was still in blue, but now had streaks of silver on it, and the silver edges glowed with a pure white light while the armor was still as smooth with some aerodynamic edges. The hard points of the Dread also fused with the legs, expanding and strengthening the Liger's Laser Claws to full power.

 

A new ZoidDread was born!

 

**************

 

“Wow!” Dita chirped in awe as the new ZoidDread gave a loud roar after the fusion.

 

“Damn! Now that is ONE mean looking Zoid!” Lance replied as he gazed at the mecha.

 

“Did you see that?" Barnette called out as she flew alongside her partner Jura.

 

“It's SO cool!" Jura declared as she stared starry-eyed at Meia's fighter that now resembled an armored battle cat with wings. (****)

 

“I've got a feeling that things aren't going to be all that smooth in there though.” Scott said to himself as he watched the new ZoidDread fusion.

 

On the pirate vessel, the bridge crew along with Magno and BC were also in awe, along with everyone else onboard.

 

“Those guys got a ton of tricks up their sleeves.” Bart said as he gazed at the new mecha.

 

**************

Inside the cockpit of the new fighter…

 

True to Scott's predictions, though the new ZoidDread was streamlined and powerful, things were NOT as streamlined in the cockpit.

 

Brandon and Meia were already recovering from the fusion of her Dread with his Ultimate X Liger, when Brandon's chest collided with Meia's backside. They both froze and turned around when they saw one another, they were in shock, and the results were… rather… noisy.

 

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Meia cried out in anger and embarrassment as she found herself in a rather undignified position. The cockpit of their own ZoidDread had her sitting in a somewhat leaning position with her on top of Brandon's lap, while his hands were on hers on control pads similar to those of Dita and Lance's ZoidDread cockpit.

 

“WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME THIS TIME…?!" Brandon shouted back as he found himself in his pilot uniform and in a rather embarrassing situation, though he tried not to show his body's reaction to the close proximity of the rather attractive and curvy Dread pilot.

 

“I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP, SO I'M GETTING THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Meia shouted as she tried to move out of the cockpit, as her body seemed to tingle slightly from his proximity, though she was too angry and confused too notice..

 

Brandon winced as Meia's squirming had began to stimulate a certain area of his anatomy. He quickly restrained himself before his imagination got to him. He then glared at the short-haired pilot.

 

“FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I DIDN'T WANT TO EVEN BE HERE! SO QUIT MOVING ALREADY! BESIDES, WE'RE IN SPACE! WHERE DO YOU PLAN TO…?"

 

At that moment their little awkward verbal sparring match was cut short when the ZoidDread shuddered from the impact as the alien ships outside attacked it. Brandon focused himself to the threat at hand and began to access the array of control systems in front of him. The ZoidDread came to life as he began accessing the systems of the massive machine as he then glared at his unexpected and reluctant though rather attractive co-pilot.

 

“As much as I want to argue a bit more, we don't have the luxury of time right now, so either you work with me here, or we're not going to do anything after a few minutes!"

 

Meia gritted her teeth but slowly nodded in agreement as she went to work on the foot pedals and the controls on either side of her chair.

 

**************

 

The ZoidDread responded well as it's engines were opened and ignited, it suddenly darted with unbelievable speed after the enemy vessels with an acceleration rate that made the other nimble Dreads look like garden snails. The Liger was moving so fast it left after-images of itself, plus streaks of charged gases as it's acceleration charged all the surrounding particles, the same way the cannons on Lance's Liger ignited the gases around it when it was fired.

 

“That kind of acceleration is totally impossible!" Barnette declared as her sensors couldn't determine the exact speed that Meia's new machine was doing.

 

“Meia is SO lucky! I envy her!" Jura said as she eyed Meia's machine wistfully.

 

*************

 

The urchin ships tried to fight back by launching more spines, but those were dodged easily by the new ZoidDread, forcing the urchin ships to retreat. They walked right into the areas where the battle between Meia and Brandon had taken place, and unknown to them, Parfet had done some changes to the Judge's systems and the sensor drones.

 

*************

 

The Judge went back into action and deployed the sensor all around the area that had been previously occupied by the battle between Meia and Brandon. This time the robot spoke to both the ZoidDread AND the Harvester units that survived.

 

“This fight is now changed to a battle with the Nirvana pirates and the new enemy units. This has no time limit and all moves are allowed. The boundaries are set…”

 

“READY…”

 

The robot then brought both arms down… “FIGHT!”

 

The new ZoidDread suddenly glowed bluish silver as the two urchin ships fired their spines. The Liger suddenly moved to one side, leaving after images of itself once more. The first enemy unit tried to dodge an incoming attack, but was greeted by the new mecha up close.

 

Before it could attempt to fight back, the Liger's claws glowed and it slammed into the ship, shattering it's fragile armor, the impact sent the urchin ship flying back with no way to recover. The ZoidDread then streaked forward and began making a series of passes at the vulnerable unit, the urchin ship was covered in several glowing streaks of pure energy while the Liger was like a blur of motion all around it. After a few moments, the Liger then streaked away from the first ship while it broke into multiple fragments behind the Liger and exploded like a ball filled with gunpowder.

 

The urchin ship that survived didn't last a second as the Liger just slammed right through it, dead center. The ship expanded like a tomato being pressed down by a heavy weight, and before anything can be done, the ship blew up like a shattered piñata.

 

The Judge looked and gave the verdict.

 

“Battle is over! Battle is over! Winner is…Brandon Reinhart and Meia Gisborn in ZoidDread…Meia!”

 

*************

 

In the command bridge…

 

As the crew cheered on the Dreads and even the Zoids as they moved back to the ship. Magno gave a smirk as she watched the ZoidDread run back with the other Ligers beside it. Brandon and Meia did have differences, but when they worked together, miracles can happen. Though those differences will one day surface, she was confident that they would work it out soon

 

*************

 

In the Zoid Hanger…

 

Scott and Lance looked on as two people were in another discussion.

 

“Now why did they have to go like this again?” Lance groaned as he looked at his oldest brother.

 

“You can't blame them, they STILL haven't settled anything yet.” Scott said as he too watched the battle between Brandon and his opponent, and still reluctant comrade.

 

Dita then walked in and gave a silly smile at Lance as she ignored the battle of words between the two other people in the Hanger. She may seem to be totally oblivious to the whole thing, but she believed that things would soon work out.

 

“Mr. Alien! I want to show you something!”

 

Lance groaned, but with a gentle nudge by his middle sibling decided to follow the redhead when she called him to follow her.

 

*************

 

“The battle is already over, so don't start with me!”

 

“Oh it's not over yet! We still haven't determined who won, since we got interrupted!”

 

“You're serious?! I was nearly close enough you could count the teeth Zarreke had in his mouth. Had it been a real battle and you and I WERE enemies, then you could bet all the credits in your pocket, you'd be organic paste between my Liger's teeth in a few seconds!”

 

“Yeah?! Well, Brandon, you should know that I had aimed all the power of my Dread to blasters…so had our match been a REAL battle, I would have blasted the cockpit you were in, to bits before you could even get your Liger's fangs a good ten feet from the cockpit of my Dread!”

 

Brandon felt a throbbing sensation on the side of his head. He had hoped to put the whole affair behind him, but it seemed that Meia Gisborn wasn't going to let it slide. She did have a point though, but the match had been called off due to the interference of the Harvesters.

 

“Fine! For today, it's a draw!” He then walked towards another Hanger area to check on his Liger.

 

“Fine! For today, but you and I still have a match to finish!” Meia called back as she too walked away to where her other comrade were.

 

As the both of them walked away from each other, they were not aware of faint smirks on their faces as they thought about their next bout someday.

 

Looks like the fires between leaders was far from extinguished!

 

*************

 

To be Continued…

 

*************

 

Well, the match is far from over between big brother and Meia, so I guess we're going to see more fights between them, eh Scott?

 

You got it brother! And it seems that things are getting more interesting around here, say you think our next mission will be just as interesting?

 

Looks like we'll all be finding out soon, plus we're going to take Bart, Duero, and Dylan to a boy's night out before the day's over! Oh and uh, Lance…

 

Yeah?

 

Take a look behind you…

 

Why? What's behind me …HEY?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY LIGER?!

 

Next time on ZoidDread! Chapter 5 - Sand and Surprise! See you all on the battle-field!

 

*************

 

This officially ends this Chapter of ZoidDread, so I'll try and get the chapter of GunDread SEED to full completion, though that will be a while since we've got some serious and comedic scenes to try and write, plus some serious fighting to visualize.

 

Plus, like before, if anybody has some comments on making this chapter more appealing and exciting, please give me a call via email or review.

 

Thanks!

 

(*) I mean no offense with this remark.

 

(**) I also mean no offense with this remark.

 

(***) Ever seen in Zoids New Century ZERO where Bit and Liger ZERO dodged Naomi Fluegel's sniper round from her Gun Sniper at CLOSE range? Well, you can guess what inspired this scene.

 

(****) Ever seen Liger ZERO with Yaeger armor? Break down the Dread of Meia Gisborn and attach the said sections of the Dread to the Yaeger, and what do you get? A real mechanical vision of the term…speed demon!