Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ ZoidDread ❯ Battle Field Gauntlet ( Chapter 9 )

ZoidDread

 

Disclaimer: Zoids VanDread are not mine, they are the properties of different companies so if anyone tries to send me a lawsuit…forget it.

 

Chapter 8

 

Battle Field Gauntlet

 

< >: Thoughts

 

<<“ ”>>: Organoid language

 

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

 

In the gym…

 

The sounds of spinning wood was heard as Lance was busy running through his combat training with a long wooden staff. The youngest brother was bare chested an wore only a pair of training pants and light shoes as he moved with the staff in intricate defensive and offensive maneuvers as he breathed in and out.

 

The youngest brother was the only one in the gym due to wanting to bleed out the stress early and not get lax on his training and getting into physical shape. Despite being technically a mercenary, the youngest brother and his siblings did retain their military life-style and kept themselves at top condition.

 

As he finished his paces, he placed way the staff and breathed in and out slowly as he felt the rivulets of sweat flow down his body. He felt his hearth-rate calm and the feeling of energy and quickness being replaced by aches and some tired limbs…but he didn't mind that as he calmed down and then walked over to get his drinking bottle of water.

 

Later, he planed to meet up with his brothers and prepare for another improvised training run with the Zoid ground operations force. Just because they had not yet tasted combat as ground pilots and as Zoid pilots was no excuse for them to miss out on basic training…who knew when they would be going to planet and actually have a mission?

 

The youngest brother was so busy thinking about his parts in the training as he dried himself with a towel, he didn't notice a certain Megele girl was creeping up on him.

 

Dita waited and when Lance as done wiping the sweat from his face and then as the youngest of the siblings placed away his towel, she showed him her present.

 

“GAHHH!!! What the heck?!” Lance cried out as he saw what appeared to be an alien monster with tentacles in from of him, forcing him back and going into defensive mode, he then recovered as the image moved away to reveal Dita Liebely.

 

“Hello Mr. Alien! I have a present for you!”

 

She then showed him the pillow…apparently she had crafted the item in her room, the pillow was orange with a cute alien with tentacles and it seemed to be greeting him. She had made it with Paiway as her company and her child friend asked if she could have it…but Dita cheerfully declines…saying that it was for Mr. Alien, and naturally Paiway was disappointed.

 

Lance looked at the pillow with some surprise and confusion.

 

“Exactly why are you giving me this?” The younger brother asked the redhead.

 

“I wanted to thank you and you're brothers for helping us win that fight yesterday…I worked really hard to make this for you and I hope you like it Mr. Alien.”

 

Lance couldn't help but sigh in exasperation, he had hoped not to be referred to as an alien but it seemed that it would still be a long time before Dita would call him by his real name, but he had done some stuff like this before…giving gifts and presents so he understood the gesture and the message behind it.

 

He took the pillow and spoke calmly.

 

“Thanks for the gift…but stop calling me Mr. Alien, I do have a name, and it is Lance, Lance Reinhart…what is so wrong about you using my name anyway?”

 

“I like Mr. Alien better.” Dita said with a cheerful smile.

 

Lance rubbed his forehead in exasperation once more…realizing that there was little chance of him convincing the redhead to call him by his real name anytime soon. But he was thankful for the gift…despite the embarrassing nature of the situation he was in.

 

“Fine…but someday I hope you call me by my real name. Now if you'll excuse me…I'm going to the showers and head off to the training yard.”

 

Dita smiled and then wondered if she could finally asked him about the tube she kept hearing men like him and his siblings have.

 

“Okay…but can I finally see if that rumor about a tube stuck between you're legs is really true Mr. Alien?” Dita asked with the dreaded sad puppy dog eyes look on her face once more.

 

Lance's response to that idea however was far from positive.

 

“NO!!!”

 

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

 

In another part of the Nirvana…

 

Brandon was busy checking the data reports on the Zoid repairs and personal customization of the women pilots for the ground teams and felt like this was going to be another very long day. The women were doing things to the extreme on occasion…some of them even tried asking if they could retro-fit the Zoids with features from the Dreads…despite the fact that the parts they had in mind were far from being the least bit compatible with Zoids.

 

The eldest brother had to deal with the mess as he looked at the data-pad. His eyes narrowed at some of the requests and for once…he was hoping that a ground operation would be called in for his brothers and the women to get involved in so the women could be a bit more practical in upgrading their Zoids when they were in a fire-fight.

 

It wasn't that Brandon actually wanted to get the women killed, but rather to tell them that some of the plans they had in mind for their Zoids was not the most effective approach when they were going into a combat zone, the enemy in his mind as a military man didn't care what you looked like or how pretty you were…all they cared about was turning you and you're machine into nothing but rubble. He had been in this world for five years and he and his brothers had seen a ton of battles since then and they knew that being pretty in the combat zone was an open invitation to being the first to be attacked.

 

<I hope that sooner of later we get a mission to really put the training into use…I'm getting to miss the feel of the ground under Zarreke's feet once more and fighting on the ground…space warfare is fine…but my Zoid is born for ground warfare.>

 

Brandon tabled those thoughts aside as he checked his watch and got up from his desk. Since there was not much for him to do right now…he might as well get some chow and then get to the training room to help keep the members of their ground team on the edge…the last thing they wanted was the female Zoid pilots getting too complacent.

 

As he got out of his office, he ran into his middle brother Scott who seemed to be deep in thought on his own set of problems.

 

“Hey brother…you all right?” The eldest asked his middle sibling.

 

“Not really…I'm itching to go on a ground operation and yet there's not much to do…and the females who are supposed to be our support in ground ops…they're not ready for it yet.”

 

“True…either way though, we had to train them for ground warfare and the only way we can be really sure we can see if they actually paid attention in class in an actual ground mission to happen.”

 

Scott snorted sadly.

 

“Fat chance of that happening right now. The Harvesters have been seriously quiet for the past few days…I think they mostly operate in deep space though in the heck are they going to get organs from people on the surface of a planet from deep space is beyond me.”

 

Brandon shook his head. The Harvesters were a very flexible bunch, so it would hardly surprise him that they would have developed weapons and machines for terrestrial operations, though in what form and configuration, was beyond his scope to picture.

 

As both brothers then chatted about their plan to continue combat training for possible ground operations, they were also discussing the new happenings on the ship, namely with the increased amounts of affection being thrown at their youngest brother, by a certain redhead. Both brothers laughed at that and then went off to grab some food.

 

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

 

On an unknown world…

 

“Sir! We've lost contact with the orbital star-port!”

 

“Damn! Have all ground teams prepare for terrestrial combat action! Corporal…status of evacuation?”

 

“Sir…our people have no other chance…unless we retake the star-port…there is no way we can allow our people to escape.”

 

The leader knew that unless they did something drastic the alien invaders would no doubt wipe out their world and kill all of their inhabitants. They had not expected such a quick strike and they only had a basic militia to defend their world…the aliens came out of nowhere and now they were being hunted down on their own world.

 

“Have the civilians evacuated to the southern city centers and prepare to abandon the capital. Have command send out a hyper-wave distress call with images of the aliens…we need help and we need it now!!!!”

 

“Commander…there is a slim chance that there are even any ships out…”

 

“Either we do that now…or we all die…and I will not let all our people be…massacred like this…send the message now.”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

The personnel made the move to send out the order and the message was being created as they tried to contact what was left of their planet's military…that is until one of the operators cried in horror.

 

“What is it?”

 

“The aliens have begun to deploy some form of pods on the surface…they are attacking towns and taking people!!!”

 

“Have all the local land militias save as many as they can!”

 

As the people of the world tried desperately to make their stand before the arrival of the alien ground forces would mean the end for them all. On the screens, the seed-like ships that released the fighters that had attacked their space forces and captured their space port, now unleashed more strange objects to the planet's surface.

 

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

 

Several hours away…

 

The Nirvana was busy on their return trip to both Tarak and Megele, the crew were busy with their usual tasks, the Dread pilots were busy getting their normal training simulation runs, the kitchen crew were busy cooking any snacks and light meals that their fellow pirates might want, along with serving break-fast to the members of their crew who had not eaten yet their meals for the morning, the engineering crew were busy with routine system checks, on the spot maintenance and more, the security crew were busy keeping an eye on things, and the rest of the crew were on their scheduled and regular routines for the day.

 

Brandon and Scott were busy grabbing their break-fast and making new plans, and both brothers were happy to see their brother…who had managed to evade Dita yet again, and thankfully, there had been no reports of the redhead not being hurt.

 

Both siblings hoped to see the two get along, since though they found it highly amusing for their youngest sibling to be followed by the happy go lucky and cheerful girl, they did know that he had some limits to how long he could tolerate people. Lance did like the girl for her cheerfulness, innocence, and kindness…not to mention looks, but her childishness did have a slight negative effect on the youngest brother.

 

“Hey, grab some chow, and is Dita chasing you again?”

 

“No…thankfully she was called by Meia to attend a meeting with the Dread pilots in their meeting room. She tried to follow me into the…”

 

“The showers…did you lock the door this time?” Brandon asked in a teasing way.

 

Lance gave him a sour look as he headed for the conveyer belt and grabbed a pale with hot bacon, eggs, hash browns and sliced peaches with syrup. He was tired after the young girl had pestered him constantly and tried once more to ask if she could see if the rumor of him having a tube between his legs was real. He managed to tell her not to ask too many questions and showed a brief amount of his temper to silence her, he didn't intentionally do it as a way to scare her, and apologized to her, the redhead sniffled a bit as she was somewhat in tears, but accepted his apology and left when the call for the Dread pilots was made.

 

As soon as he sat down he began to eat, but the eldest brothers noted the changes in their youngest sibling and they had a suspicion that something happened between the two…Lance knew those looks that his brothers gave him and decided to speak.

 

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

 

In the Dread pilot meeting room…

 

Meia was busy outlining some new combat maneuvers to be attempted by the Dread pilots with the support of the three Reinhart siblings, in the rooms were all of the Dread pilots, except those who were also part of Brandon's Zoid squadron were reminded to that still had another tactical meeting to attend, and thus were not present. Along with the pilots were Dita, Jura, and Barnette.

 

Meia's rivalry with Brandon was still a topic of heated discussion between the Dread pilots, initially, many of them, including Barnette thought Meia could defeat the eldest brother with ease…but they were proven wrong when the fight ended with something of a tie…though none of them lost faith in Meia and her skills with a Dread, they honestly looked forward for another rematch between the two once things quiet down…but with their leader doing her duties and Brandon being busy with his own ground operation training, the two of them were not in the mood to redo the challenge.

 

Meia noted a slight change in her apprentice once Dita had walked into the room, while many were quite used to Dita's nature and her thought that her slight depression would fade away, Meia, being very astute sensed that there was something important that was bothering the normally cheerful girl.

 

So it was not surprising that after the meeting was over, she called Dita.

 

“Dita, can you stay here for a bit? We need to talk.”

 

The redhead was surprised and twiddled her fingers a bit but nodded nevertheless.

 

“Sure Leader.”

 

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

 

Later…

 

“He got really angry at first and told me to leave him alone.” Dita replied sadly as she recalled the surge of temper Lance had when she continued to ask his permission to let her see if the rumor about the tube was true.

 

Meia was not very sure about rumors concerning men so she hardly knew what the tube was, that seemed to hold Dita's interest so much, but judging from Lance's supposed reaction to the times Dita had asked him that, it must be a very private matter between men, and it was apparently not something women should know about.

 

“And what happened?”

 

“Well…Mr. Alien got sad and apologized to me, saying that he didn't mean to get so angry…he just said that I shouldn't be asking him such things.”

 

“Well…he did apologize to you Dita, so why are you still sad?”

 

“I…I don't want to make Mr. Alien mad at me…I just wanted to know if it was true…he did thank me for the pillow, but I guess I overdid everything, I just want to get to know him and make him happy.” Dita pouted a bit.

 

Meia didn't understand it herself as to why Dita pursued Lance of all the men, she had to admit that she was curious as to why Dita was among the very few…Parfait included, along with the Captain, Buzam, and Gascogne to welcome the men willingly, she had softened a bit towards them but still didn't wholly trust them. Whatever it was that interested and attracted the young apprentice towards the youngest of the brother, it certainly was enough for her to risk being hurt…though she had an idea that lance had no intention of hurting the bubbly Dread pilot.

 

“Dita…I know I'm not really the kind of person to talk to about relationships, but I think it would be a good idea you give Lance some space for now…once things are calmer, then I think you can chat with him, but try not to bother him too much.”

 

Dita shook a bit at that comment…was she really bothering Mr. Alien so much that he wanted her to leave him alone, despite his apology? Was she really making life hard for Mr. Alien.

 

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

 

In the galley…

 

“You did what?” Both brothers looked at their youngest brother with a look of surprise and disbelief…apparently their worst fears had come to pass.

 

“I…lost my temper…I shouted at her, saying that she was a pain in the neck and I wish she'd leave me alone.”

 

Brandon shook his head in disappointment to his youngest sibling, while Scott merely pinched the bridge of his nose…while this situation was not totally unexpected, the timing was not very welcome, not to mention that this would be a bad situation should someone among the crew blow the whole thing way out of proportion. The brothers were realistic when it came to crew interaction, and one mishap would place the whole alliance between men and women on this ship on the edge.

 

Lance knew that too and was not very happy with his actions.

 

“I apologized to her and tried to assure her that I didn't mean to hurt her feelings…but I…”

 

“We're not blaming you brother, but I recommend that you set the record completely straight between you and that redhead, she really likes you, and I know that the crew on this ship will soon hear about it, and they might misinterpret the whole thing…and when that happens…we'll be in real hot water.” Brandon said as he tried to put his brother at ease, but still thinking about the possible outcomes of this mess.

 

“I'm with Brandon too…plus you did say you like her, so I guess you had better do something to smoothen things out between the two of you. If she gets the wrong idea on what had happened between the two of you, this will seriously put things in the worst possible situation.” Scott said calmly.

 

Lance thought about it and decided to follow the advice of his elder brothers.

 

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

 

Later in the Bio-Park…

 

Dita was really sad as she looked at the large river in the artificial park and began to throw some small stones into the river to vent out her frustration and sadness. As the stones sank into the water with a splash She began to ask herself the same thing over and over again.

 

“Why? Why? Why?!”

 

As she stopped and slumped to the floor, the redhead spoke to herself.

 

“Why does he get mad at me? And do I always bother him and make him tired and angry?!” The redhead looked on at the lake with a remorseful look and then she heard footsteps, but yet did not turn as a certain odango pigtail wearing nurse came on the scene with what appeared to be a camera.

 

In the screen was an image of Dita in black, white, and other dark color shadings and there seemed to be dark waves around Dita as Paiway spoke to her childhood friend.

 

“Parfait gave me this new camera, it detects the people's moods and yours looks so black Dita, are you feeling depressed Dita?”

 

“Isn't it obvious Pai?” The redhead pouted sullenly as she looked at the river and began to think about talking to Mr. Alien again, but didn't want to become bothersome to the youngest of the Reinhart siblings.

 

“I haven't felt this way since I was a girl. I had a pet blue-jay given to me by my Ohma. It was the most beautiful little bird I ever saw, and I doted on it for as long as I could…doing what I could to make it feel happy and safe…but it got weaker and weaker…until it died.”

 

Paiway nodded and thought of teasing her close friend a bit.

 

“Maybe it got tired of you being around it and being so insistent…just like Lance gets tired and exhausted.”

 

However, she was not prepared for the way Dita interpreted her statement as the redhead looked at her childhood friend with panic and fear.

 

“You mean Mr. Alien will be like my pet blue-jay?! He'll just get tired and never get up…he'll die because I'm close to him and near him all the time?!” The mere thought of Lance lying on the floor, dead like her pet blue-jay had Dita trembling in fear…she didn't want that to happen to Mr. Alien…her heart would shatter if it would ever happen to him, she didn't want to also be the one who took Mr. Alien away from his brother aliens…they would never forgive her for it.

 

“W..well…I heard once in a while that Lance comments to his brothers how tired and exhausted he gets to be dealing with you Dita, kero!” Paiway said, using both her normal voice and the one she reserved for her frog bag/doll.

 

Dita froze as she heard that, and her hair covered her eyes as she looked even more depressed and sad…worrying her friend even more as she held her legs together and began to speak slowly and sob a bit.

 

“I…I see…”

 

“Dita…I was…I was just…” Paiway tried to soothe the fears of her close friend, a part of her realized that Dita was very close to Lance and although she was not happy with it, she didn't want Dita to be so downcast over thinking that she would be the cause of Lance's demise.

 

“I was just joking Dita.”

 

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

 

Later…still in the Bio-Park…

 

<Darn it…where could she be? I hope she's here right now…I really have got to get the record straight between me and her before something totally unneeded happens.>

 

Lance was looking for Dita and had asked any member of the crew if they had seen the red haired woman. It was only when Parfait said that she was last seen Dita in the Bio-Park that his hopes buoyed up a bit as he looked about.

 

He then picked up some very faint sounds and heard some…sobbing.

 

<Oh no…please tell me that is not who I think it is.>

 

However, the moment he went to the area near the river and spotted the long sleeved cloth jacket, the golden tiara and the crimson hair told him that the person he was looking for was already in a state of tears. This made the brother feel like a punch had been thrown into his guts. He walked over to the still sitting form and then spoke out carefully so as not to scare the young woman he came looking for to apologize to.

 

“Dita?”

 

Dita stiffened and turned to see Lance, the redhead girl had come to the painful decision of leaving Lance alone, no matter how painful it was to her to leave behind her first contact with men. This also applied to Lance's other siblings…just to be sure…no matter how it seemed to make her sad to be no longer able to be around lance she wasn't going to do it anymore if he would wind up dead like her pet blue-jay.

 

Dita stood up and was about to walk away, but found her path blocked by Lance. The young Reinhart wondered what had happened to the once perky, cheerful, and bubbly Megele girl that he knew…Dita was depressed, sad, and most importantly…in tears…and for some reason her condition seemed to have gotten worse now that she had seen him. Something was wrong here…

 

“Please…let me go…I promise I won't ever bother you…” Dita sobbed a bit as she tried to speak to Lance for what seemed to be the last time between them, to follow her promise to leave him alone.

 

“Dita…what's going on here?” Lance asked gently as he stood before the redhead, trying to figure out what was it that made the redhead this depressed.

 

“I…”

 

“What is wrong…Dita, please tell me what is wrong.”

 

“I…” Dita wanted to just end it but Lance was not letting her go…sure he didn't stop her or restrain her in any way shape or form, but being this close to him was already testing her promise. And this time she tried to leave by stepping aside…

 

However Lance merely blocked her path and with the gentlest of tones that he could manage in this very awkward situation.

 

“Tell me why you want to avoid me.”

 

“I…I don't want you to die…because of me always bothering you…so I will change for the better…and leave you alone.”

 

Lance then gently placed his right hand on Dita's face and silently told her to look at him and the redhead did so slowly and hesitantly, and due to his five years of travel, the younger brother could tell that she was expecting the worst to happen the moment she looked at him. As soon as she looked at him, he could see the tears there and with the same gentleness wiped the tears away and looked Dita square in the eye.

 

“Why would you think that?”

 

Dita then told him about her discussion with Paiway about her pet blue-jay and what she feared might happen to him if she continued to be around him. Lance shook his head in disbelief at Dita's thinking and decided to allay her fears.

 

“Look Dita…I do get tired when you are around, but not too tired to the point that I would actually die…isn't that a little too extreme?”

 

“You mean you won't…?”

 

“Of course not! And about you changing you're ways…then don't…I wasn't lying to you that you look better with a smile on you're face than a frown and tears. I prefer you to be the same cheerful and kind-hearted woman that you are. I'll admit, there are some things about you that DO annoy me…but they complete you and I don't think you getting rid of them is the best idea or plan. In fact I hardly recognized you with you're sad looks and posture.”

 

“Oh…sorry…”

 

“You made me worry a lot there Dita…so please…show me a smile.”

 

Dita smiled and she felt her heart beat faster and some warmth flooded her face as Lance smiled back at her.

 

“Now that is the Dita Liebely I knew…feeling better now?”

 

“Yes!” Dita said with a smile as she cheerfully hugged Lance…who this time didn't react negatively.

 

<At least she's back to her old self.>

 

However, before Dita could apologize for all the worry she put Lance through…an important message made it's way to the whole of the ship and called the attention of all the crew.

 

Dita and Lance looked at one another and then together…made their way to where the bridge was.

 

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

 

Earlier…as other members of the crew were still busy working before the message came in.

 

Scott and Brandon were busy checking the current progress of the Zoid pilots. The eldest brother checked their performance in both high speed combat and long range combat, taking over Lance's specialty for the time being until the youngest of his siblings would make peace with Dita.

 

As they watched the trainees perform, Scott and Brandon were surprised somewhat to see Meia in her Dread pilot uniform, and she looked at her fellow women as they began to train with the simulators that were once used for Dreads Vanguards…now they were conditioned to be able to follow the motions and actions of Zoids.

 

“What brings you here?” Brandon asked the Dread Squadron Leader as she walked over to watch the reports coming in to the console before the eldest brother and Zoid pilot.

 

“Just curious on how you plan on training the crew now that you don't have the time to set up a base camp like you did before.” Meia asked as she saw the brothers running combat simulations and combat scenarios for the pilots.

 

“You don't need to remind me about that Meia, time constraints were the reason for not being able to complete the needed training, and there hasn't been any missions for them to test their combat skills, that's the one thing I and my brothers don't want to happen, it would mean that all the effort we put into training them and the time was for nothing, and that is something I know will leave a bad taste in my mouth.”

 

Meia nodded at the reasoning behind the elder brother's statement, like Brandon, Meia wanted to make sure that all of her fellow Dread pilots were at the top of their respective games and always at the best of their abilities, and she understood that Brandon, Scott, and Lance wanted their fellow Zoid pilots to be at their best…however that was where the difference lay between her teams and the Reinharts' squadron, the Dreads were always needed since they traveled in space and could fight in space, most of the battles they all had been in, including the brothers were in space. The pirates selected for combat as a ground team could only be called into action if they had a ground mission on a planet and as far as they knew, the Harvesters were dedicated to space operations for now as they had not seen any kind of ground based Harvester Units.

 

As the group were looking at the progress of the training, they were alerted by the bridge crew as they were able to intercept a distress call from a planet a fair distance from their current course to Megele and Tarak space…and from the urgency of the message, it was very much new and recently released.

 

Brandon and Scott quickly ended the training session and ordered the ground teams to assemble at the assigned meeting hall for their operational briefings, just incase, though the women doubted that they would be called upon to pilot the Zoids they had chosen for a ground operation anytime soon, they complied and waited as the two brothers, along with Meia made their way to the bridge to see just what was in the message.

 

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

 

In the Bridge…

 

“Have you been able to decrypt the message yet BC?” Magno asked the silver haired woman as she and the bridge crew worked on the message. She then turned and greeted the gathered group that comprised of Dita, Lance, Brandon, Scott, and Meia as they were now here to find out just what was so urgent that they were called in.

 

“In a minute…there, all right, play the message.”

 

“Roger!” Celtic and the others responded as the view screen in front of the bridge revealed a middle aged man wearing what appeared to be a military style uniform that was not like that of Tarak military dress code…showing that there were other human worlds and civilizations out there apart from Tarak and Megele. The look of utter desperation and seriousness in his face showed that this was far from a social greeting.

 

“This is Commander Trance Halcyon of the planet of Cyndra 7 to all vessels that are now reading this. We are under attack by an unknown force that appears totally alien in nature! They came out of nowhere as if they knew how our regular militia patrol patterns operated, they bypassed our sensor networks and attacked us without any warning or provocation, all attempts for communication establishment have been used and have not been in the least successful…and they have overwhelmed our planet's small defense force and have taken over the space port…we have no chance to evacuate our survivors and citizens and our pilots have either been killed or have returned to our planet's surface to lend their aid in the defense. We have in this message images of the alien forces that have attacked us…they have now deployed their ground assault forces and have already attacked several cities on the surface of our world. If anyone has received this message please help us!”

 

The images of the alien forces that had attacked the planet of Cyndra 7 were now revealed, and the images of certain units such as a Seed like mother ship that released two large cubes that broke apart into fighters, the fighters resembling octopus types, and their tactics already told the pirates just who were attacking the people of Cyndra 7.

 

The Harvesters…

 

“How long will it be before we can reach Cyndra 7?” Magno asked the bridge crew. Even if they were on their way to help their home system, the pirates could not turn down a plea for help that was genuine and was not a fake, no way would they allow people to suffer being harvested by the Harvesters like they were nothing but crops and live-stock.

 

“We'll be there in two hours Captain…but by then…the ground forces the Harvesters have sent would have already overwhelmed the planet.” Amarone replied as she ran a study on the variable that the crew were getting into.

 

“It's all right…Bart! Have the ship move at full speed and standby for combat.”

 

“Okay.” Bart replied as the Tarak teen began to navigate the ship towards Cyndra 7's coordinates.

 

Buzam looked at the Captain and spoke.

 

“This will have to be a concerted effort Captain…since the Dreads cannot fight on the planet's surface due to their designs, then that would mean that we will need to send down a ground force.”

 

Magno nodded and smiled.

 

“I know…thankfully we have the leaders for such a mission and their forces are ready. Brandon…how soon can you're Zoid Squadrons be ready to arrive on the planet's surface?” She asked the eldest brother and lead Zoid Commander.

 

Brandon made a quick mental calculation and replied.

 

“We can be deployed immediately and move at full speed to the planet on our own power, but we recommend that we be deployed at half way to the planet we need to plan out the attack route and we also need all the data we can get on just what kind of planet we'll be fighting on, no sense going into battle without plans and contingencies. This is the first time the women under our command will be in a fight on a planet's surface against live enemy targets, we don't want to be caught with our pants down.”

 

Magno and Buzam nodded at Brandon's need to plan out the operation, they understood that unlike the Dread pilots, the ground team members have never tasted land warfare in real life combat situations. This will be the land team's first ever ground mission against the Harvesters, and the women knew that it would be the most dangerous, namely since there was not much data on just what the Harvesters used to effect ground operations, and that made it all the more dangerous.

 

“You have one hour…maybe less since we are moving at full speed now.” BC replied as she spoke out the general plan to everyone involved.

 

“Brandon and his siblings will lead the ground mission and ensure that the people on Cyndra 7 will be safe. Meia and the Dreads will need to eliminate the Cube Fighters and the Seed Ships in space and liberate the space port. The Nirvana will be present to provide communications and support to both the ground teams and the Dreads.”

 

Brandon and his siblings looked at one another and nodded as they went ahead to plan their mission. It seemed that they were going to have a ground mission after all, and this time, they would have to see if the time and training they had given to the pirates chosen to act as the ground operations unit was worth it.

 

Meia likewise called in another meeting for all the Dread pilots as the rest of the crew were now informed of the situation on Cyndra 7, as they moved abut to accomplish what had to be done in preparation for their battle with the Harvesters, the crew hoped that after this, they would be able to arrive home and feel safe. But as long as the harvesters were around to attack them, they would have to fight.

 

The Nirvana changed course and powered up it's engines and made it's way to Cyndra 7.

 

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

 

In the briefing room for the Zoid strike team…

 

Brandon and his siblings poured over the complied and ordered data as their fellow Zoid pilots were now in the room, many of them were nervous and somewhat excited as this was going to be their first ground mission…many of them were surprised that they were now going to face the Harvesters in ground combat so it was not surprising to the three siblings that there would also be some level of fear in them. They were now going to engage the Harvesters in land warfare…and they knew what that meant.

 

As soon as they were done with their planning, the eldest brother called the meeting to order and spoke calmly and with the same no nonsense attitude he had when in a mission.

 

“As you have no doubt heard, we have received a coded distress call from a human inhabited planet known as Cyndra 7 and it is under attack by the Harvesters. According to the data, the Harvesters had been able to evade and bypass their defenses and have nearly wiped out their space forces and have taken over the space port, this had denied the people the chance to use their ships to either fight of evacuate…this in turn has trapped the people on their own planet, and recently…we have learned that the Harvesters have deployed their ground forces to begin the harvesting of the people on the surface. Though none of us are from this world…we cannot turn our backs on fellow humans and allow them to be harvested like they are nothing but vegetable and live-stock. The planet is the same as the one we have trained on so the territory should be familiar, there appears to be two large continents and several smaller landmasses, and only one of the continents is inhabited, thus this will keep our operations window to a minimum. ”

 

“Our objectives are two fold…Meia and the other Dread pilots will launch a strike to take back the space port from the Harvesters and also to prevent them from sending more of their forces to harvest the people on the surface, along with protecting the people once they are clear and prevent Harvester counter-attacks. Our job is to hold off the Harvesters on the ground and help the survivors in evacuating from the area before the Harvesters over-run them. This will be the first mission you all will be part of…and I will not lie to any of you, the dangers in this mission are very real, you will not be facing target boards, holograms, and simulations, nor will you be using blanks, fake weaponry and reduced firepower…the weaponry is live and the enemies are the real deal. That means that you will take them down fast and hard so they don't recover…or else they do the same to you. Any questions?”

 

One of the pilots raised her hand and asked her question…with a hint of fear.

 

“Will we be facing Cube Fighters?”

 

Scott shook his head.

 

“We don't have all the information but according to what the bridge crew have deciphered from the message, the Harvesters have what appears to be a secondary force to deal with any ground based operations and as of now, they have not yet been encountered by anyone…we will be the first.”

 

“My brothers and I will set up the contact zone and once all of you are planet-side, maintain fire discipline and formation. This is where all you're weeks of training are about to pay off so make sure that you remember all of you're lessons and make sure to be prepared. We'll be right there to support you should you need our assistance. There maybe a possibility any of us may be called up to assist the Dreads, so listen to the orders of the second in command for all of you.”

 

Scott directed his attention to three pilots, namely Mia, Kara, and Rin. The three women had so far proven themselves to be very skilled Zoid pilots, impressing the brothers and they had been assigned to act as the brothers' seconds in command for the operations they would soon be in, and today was the day the three would be in the fight. All three women nodded as they knew that being assigned as the ones to replace the three brothers in the ground operations if needed due to the fact that they had earned their respective positions through their own skills and merit made them proud and despite that they still didn't quite like their commanders, they respected them.

 

Brandon looked at the faces of all the pilots and sensed that they were still nervous…but ready, now they had to trust not just themselves and each other, but him and his siblings, their training, and their Zoids.

 

“One more thing…you all have some time left to customize you're Zoids, but make sure that you will have them ready for planet-side operations once we get the go signal. Remember you're training, keep discipline, focus, and watch out for one another, and keep up you're guard. If there is nothing else…all of you head to the Zoid Hangers and get ready…once we get the signal…we go. Is that clear?”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

The Zoid pilots made their way to the Hangers, with the brothers in the lead.

 

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

 

An hour later…

 

The Nirvana moved at full speed to wards Cyndra 7 and as they arrived within visual range of the planet, they're sensors were able to pick up the forces of the Harvesters in space. There were at least four Seed Ships that were surrounded by Cube Fighters and these were in positions around the planet and the space port, and these locations in question would strategically allow them to cut off any attempt of escape from the people on the surface.

 

Further scans determined that there were two more Seed Ships…but of a different design and function as the cubes they released were far larger and seemed to be able to withstand the rapid descent into the planet's atmosphere…that meant that these must be the ships that acted as the deployment units for the ground force of the Harvesters.

 

Magno nodded to Buzam and the silver haired female nodded in agreement and made the call for the Zoid pilots.

 

“This is Buzam A Calessa to the Zoid ground strike teams…we have reached Cyndra 7… you have permission to begin planet landing operations, repeat, all Zoid pilots have permission to begin landing operations.”

 

 

In the Zoid Hanger…

 

The women were busy making their final checks and were filled with nervous anticipation, and some had fear in them as they got ready for combat. The brothers had insisted that they would have to be prepared for anything and told them to make sure to have protection from possible shrapnel. As Brandon and his siblings were busy running through their own Zoids' weaponry and system, they made sure to talk to their pilots and assure them that they will be all right.

 

As soon as they heard the announcement, the brothers smiled as it was time to get into the fight. They looked at all their assembled pilots and made the command to board their Zoids.

 

“Get ready to move teams…we're going planet-side!”

 

The brothers moved to their Zoids as the women all rushed to their own Zoids and began powering up their Zoids as the cockpits went down and sealed up for space travel. The women already knew the procedure of powering up their Zoids for combat and the hanger was now filled with the sounds of moving Zoids as the Liger ZERO Zoids were in the lead of a large force of Saber Fangs, Shield Ligers, Command Wolves, Blade Ligers, several Lighting Saix, and for heavy fire support a pair of Gojulas, and another pair of Dibison.

 

The brothers then gave the command for their Zoids to switch to their CAS Armor Systems, a flash of light later, all three Liger ZERO Zoids were armed with their custom Armor, the Ligers and their pilots led the strike team to the surface, as they had managed to gain more incoming data concerning the situation on Cyndra 7, Apparently the humans who lived on the planet had been pushed back into their main capital and were fighting with all that they had, but the Harvester units that had attacked their home-planet continued their advance.

 

Brandon, Scott, and Lance looked at the Nirvana as they and their team left, and there, they saw the Dreads as Meia and her squadron took off to do their own mission, and that was to force the Harvesters away from the space-port and free it to allow the people of Cyndra 7 to regain control of their world…or to leave it behind.

 

The Zoids began to make it through the atmosphere as Brandon and his siblings ordered them to activate their heat and energy shields and ready their weapon systems for battle, the brothers fought in a large number of battles and they always had weapons and shields ready just in case they met with resistance on the landing zone…that form of caution certainly saved their bacon more than once.

 

As soon as they landed on the planet's surface, they were in a large field of green and there were trees everywhere, along with water…the view was nice…but that was marred completely as the women saw the place in flames, craters were everywhere and in the distance…cities and towns were burning, explosions were heard as the women of Megele were now allowed to see what true land warfare was all about.

 

Brandon and his brothers had seen this before in their stint of travel for five years…but it still sickened them. They placed those feelings aside and ordered the Zoids to move on out into the battle-zone. As the Zoids were moving into the battle-zone…they were approaching the ruins of one of the cities.

 

Up in space, Meia checked her squadrons and nodded approvingly as they were all ready for combat, they moved in and in that exact moment the Cube Fighters attacked them. The space battle was on…

 

Before it began, Meia and her two comrades, Jura and Dita wondered how the ground team was going and just what the Harvesters used in ground missions.

 

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

 

On the ground…

 

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!”

 

“IT'S SO UGLY!!!”

 

Brandon had enough of the chatter as weapons-fire erupted as the ground battle went underway.

 

“Can the damn chatter and just concentrate on two things ladies! Take them out and avoid being turned into scrap! ALL ZOIDS!! WE ARE WEAPONS FREE!!! ENGAGE THE HARVESTERS!!”

 

The Zoids were now firing their weapons as the massive Harvester Units mounted their own assault…the women, despite their attention being directed into combat could not help but feel shivers of fear as they faced the units in combat.

 

The Harvester ground combat units resembled massive giant mantises of black, gold, red, and orange…their v-shaped heads had one massive visor-like eye as massive eyes moved and scanned the battle-field before them, their legs were large as they trampled the earth and ripped apart vehicles and buildings that were not as tall as it was…nearing the height of a ten story building…making them taller than the Zoids before them… they had massive forearms armed with powerful energy cannons that were in the same scope as the weapons of their space born brethren the Cube Fighters, and on the forearms were scythe-like claws, there were grooves on the arms that released tentacles that lashed on any humans and the mantis-like machines took the captured victims and swallowed them into the maws that were their mouths…despite being machines in truth…the mechanical mantises were covered in specific sections with artificial flesh and skin hues…further making them look like alien horrors to their victims and their unexpected enemies. From a nearby area several massive cubes appeared and as they streaked in hot fire through the atmosphere, and as they landed on the ground, the Cubes broke open and out came several more of the Mantis units.

 

This made Brandon and his team label the new ground based Harvester units as the Cube Mantis. (*)

 

Several of the women managed to avoid the weapons fire of the Cube Mantis and concentrate their fire on the small but powerful bands of Harvester units. The brothers did a head count and determined that as of the moment, they were dealing with a rather large strike team…and since this was their first encounter with the land based attack forces of the Harvesters, they could ill-afford having too many injuries.

 

Brandon faced off with one of the Cube Mantises that apparently decided to capture him as it's forearm cannons tried to take him out and his Liger, as soon as he dodged the weapons-fire, he ducked and ran aside as the scythe claw of the Cube Mantis sliced a building into two.

 

As the machine turned around and attacked, the Liger crouched and leaped back as the scythe claws bit deep into the ground and for a brief moment were imbedded on the ground. That was all both Brandon and Zarreke needed as both Zoid and pilot attacked, the Liger's Strike Laser Claws glowed and hacked off the scythe claws at their connector joints and the Cube Mantis reeled backwards as it tried to recover and fight back…however, Brandon was not giving up as he guided his Zoid and used the gravity actuator field generators to help it scale over the wall side of a building and quickly leaped forward and pivoted his Zoid…and slammed right into the body of the Cube mantis.

 

Brandon wasted little time and quickly clamped his Liger's jaws on the head of the Cube Mantis and with several violent yanks, tears, and bites resulted in the Liger ripping off the head of the Mantis…earning the Zoid Strike team their first kill of the day.

 

Brandon wasted little time however as he knew that the fight has only just begun and he hoped that they could weather the storm and stop the people of Cyndra 7 from being totally wiped out.

 

As he got off his target and crushed the head to be sure…he spotted his brothers busy leading the strike team in an attack on the enemy forces. Contacting the Zoids near him, Brandon gathered them and launched high speed strikes to imbalance their foes and help their comrades.

 

The entire battle was titanic…anyone watching would have seen amazing battles as robotic beasts of war clashed with one another.

 

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

 

In space…

 

The once pristine and murky blackness of space, shone only by planets, stars, cosmic clouds of energy and more was brought to light even more…but instead of cosmic occurrences, the lights and new objects were missiles and energy weapons-fire as both the Dread squadrons of the Nirvana clashed with the Cube Fighters of the Harvesters in space.

 

Meia got into contact with all her pilots and squadron leaders, as well as Jura, Dita, and Barnette.

 

“We have to retake the space port and try to force the Harvesters back…and if it can be done…we can try and attack the Seed Ships that are deploying the Harvester ground units and help the others by cutting off the flow of reinforcements….keep you're weapons hot and avoid hitting each other, retreat to refuel and re-arm, and make you're shots count…don't get careless.”

 

“Roger!”

 

“I hope Mr. Alien and the other Mr. Aliens and the rest of our friends will be all right.” Dita chimed as she began to fight back at the Cube Fighter units that came at them.

 

“We can only do what we can…we have to trust them to do what they can on their own terms, keep you're focus Dita.”

 

“Right!”

 

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

 

On the ground…

 

“Maintain fire at these target coordinates!” Lance called out as he got into contact with their heavy fire support Zoids, the Gojulas and the Dibison.

 

“Roger!”

 

The Tyrannosaurus-type Zoids roared and unleashed their super cannons in conjunction with the Dibison's combined mortar attacks…the massive barrage of suppressive fire had the desired results as Lance hoped it would as several of the Cube Mantises were cut down and only the lower body section of the few Cube Mantises was spared from the barrage due to their heavily reinforced armor plating.

 

However the alloy proved to be no match for Scott's Liger ZERO and the blades used in the CAS Schneider Armor. The armor held for a few moments but not before the blades tore through them. Scott wondered just why these were apparently designed for such heavy combat and to his shock, he find out why.

 

The lower body was like a massive cryogenics facility and it's sections were rows upon rows of now physically immobile humans…all of them were in what appeared to be tubes that sustained them and maintained their life functions, the lower body section also appeared to have special engines and thrusters built in and the lower section appeared to be detachable from the rest of the body…meaning that once the Cube Mantises had gathered as many humans as it could, then the section would apparently blast off into space and be picked up by the Harvesters in deep orbit over the planet.

 

“Damn…these guys are something else…Rikera…are the people alive?”

 

The Organoid used it's new body's sensors to determine the current physical condition of the victims of the Harvesters…and the results were not the least bit promising.

 

<< “They appear to have somehow been rendered unable to move due to the considerable amount of toxin I'm picking up in their bodies…the toxin has rendered all of their muscles to be totally inactive…with the exception of the heart, they are still alive, but unable to do anything or escape..”>>

 

Scott glared at the way the Harvesters treated human beings like they were merely crops and he quickly grabbed the section and dragged it aside, and then contacted the rest of the Zoid Strike Team.

 

“Make sure not to harm the lower body section! All their victims are inside them, and they are still alive! Avoid destroying the lower section!”

 

The brother then guided his Liger aside as a nearby Cube Mantis tried to attack him, as soon as he dodged the scythe claws that tried to gut his Liger. As soon as the claws missed him, he quickly fired several laser-cannon bolts at the Mantis he was fighting with and then as the machine reeled, the brother struck as all five head mounted blades connected and he charged.

 

“BUSTER SLASH!!!”

 

The blades glowed with energy surges as the Liger smashed the middle section into nothing but tin foil as the Cube Mantis fell to the ground in a heap. The machine's upper half continued to struggle and move, even if it had no legs, but as it used it's forearm claws to right itself somewhat, the Liger ran back and with a powerful downward slash of it's Strike Laser Claws, crushed the eye of the Mantis…ending it's resistance to the damage.

 

More Cube Mantises came out of the wood-work…apparently the Harvesters knew who they were and were now focusing on eliminating them all and preventing them from stopping their harvest of the people of Cyndra 7.

 

Mia groaned as she managed to move her Zoid away from several exploding debris from the buildings and quickly moved to face off her foes, beside her was Kara as both women faced a pair of Cube Mantises. The first of the pair fires it's cannons forcing Mia to evade the attacks, but gets knocked aside from a swat from the second Mantis. She rights her Blade Liger and quickly uses her training to evade the following attack and begins to dodge and weave as weapons fire erupted from the Cube Mantis' weaponry. She quickly used one of her Blade Liger's energy blades and slashes off one of the legs of the Cube Mantis as soon as she turned, she immediately used her Blade Liger's ranged weapons and the fire-power slammed into the Mantis, forcing it to turn around and face the nimble war machine. The young Blade Liger pilot then took the chance and unleashed both blades and quickly charged in as the Cube Mantis open fired with it's ranged weapons. The Blade Liger dodged the incoming attacks and then sliced off another set of legs from the Mantis as the Liger ran underneath the massive Harvester unit. This gave the second Cube Mantis the chance to attack, but it was intercepted by several powerful beam shots from Kara's Lightning Saix, the cheetah type Liger then charged before the Mantis could recover…forcing it to try and track down the Zoid and allowed Mia to close the gap and cut the machine by the middle.

 

Both Zoid pilots then attacked the first Cube Mantis as it tried to stand and fight back, their ranged weapons slammed hard on the Cube Mantis as Mia's Blade Liger used the blades to cut down the Cube Mantis at the middle. The second Cube Mantis moved in and attacked, but Kara fires her weapons right at the legs…namely on the ground, creating pits that make the machine lose it's footing for a few moments…just enough for her to aim several high powered salvos as the head and the beams destroyed the head of the Cube Mantis. The two women called down and were thankful that throughout the entire battle, they didn't lose their cool, and they had to thank the siblings for the training they had given.

 

Rin led her own comrades into ambushing a Cube Mantis as well, when one of the girls pretended to have suffered some damage to her Saber Fang and lured the Mantis into position…she and several others then leaped out from the wreckage of several buildings and grabbed the legs of the machine and ripped their joints. As soon as the machine fell to the ground, Rin and her comrades quickly attacked and ripped the Cube Mantis to pieces with their fangs, claws and guns…making sure to detach the lower body section to make sure that none of the humans inside it were killed by the explosions that followed.

 

The other women were also finding the training that they had endured under the brothers had very promising results as they began to utilize the advantages of their Zoids either in lone operations, pairs or in groups. Several Cube Mantises were being cut down as the Blade Ligers moved in unison as a pack and ambushed them…the buildings acted as shields and barriers, both for blocking weapons fire…and also to distract the alien machines long enough for them to attack them quickly…the Command Wolves were able to gang up on lone Cube Mantises and take them down, groups of the Lightning Saix, moved outside of the city and gave the Cube Mantises a hard time to hit them, once the fighting got fiercer, the Lighting Saix would then unleash waves of beam fire that damaged the Cube Mantis units even more, and that allowed the other units to attack, The Saber Tigers moving as one through the rubble and ambushing the Cube Mantises that they could…leaping out from the ruins and catching the occupied Harvester Units off guard, some lured the Cube Mantises back into corners and then the Harvester unit would be surrounded by the Saber Fangs and torn apart, and the Shield Ligers used their powerful shielding to block the strikes of the Cube Mantis units to close in and bombard their foes with either their weapons and also to attack up close with their melee weaponry.

 

The training of the three brothers had certainly paid off as the women held their own against the forces of the Harvesters, namely since this was the first battle with the ground forces of the Harvesters…however, it hardly meant that the battle was one sided as some of the Zoids were also badly damaged and had to pull out of the fight. Thankfully their commanders had planned for this too as the three Ligers made sure to protect those that had to pull away from the fight.

 

They too were in their own set of fire-fights…

 

Lance locked his Hybrid Cannons on a band of the Cube Mantises…making sure at the same time to not harm the lower body section in fear of possibly killing the victims inside the lower body section as he, Brandon and the others got word of what the contents were in them. As soon as his targeting computers gave him the all clear…he unleashed his attack and the results were devastating!

 

“HYBRID CANNONS!!!”

 

The powerful shots vaporized the upper sections of the Cube Mantises…resulting in horrific damage to the enemy as the remains were either rendered headless or were ripped apart on the upper regions.

 

Brandon was also going at it as he and several Lighting Saix Zoids under his command continued to unleash hit and run tactics on the now gathering numbers of Cube Mantises that homed in on their current location. It seemed that things were about to get real dicey for them as their scanners picked up more opposition.

 

Brandon then got into contact with the Nirvana and try to figure out the current situation both up in space and what was the current status with the people of Cyndra 7.

 

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

 

In the Nirvana…

 

“This is Brandon, can you hear me Captain?”

 

“We read you Brandon…what's the situation on the ground?” Magno asked as she and Buzam watched the battles in both space and the planet on the tactical monitors as the bridge crew maintained contact with the two strike teams.

 

“This is a real mess…the girls are doing all right and we're all doing everything we can, no fatal casualties so far, and for that we're thankful…but we need to find a way to silence the number of enemy reinforcements. How are Meia and the rest of the Dreads doing?”

 

“They have managed to make some headway towards re-securing the space port by the Seed Ships are still releasing our fighters, and it's been hard to try and make a clear strike at them. The two Seed Ships that are releasing Cubes to the surface seemed to have concentrated the drop point area of their units to you're location. They seem intent on wiping you all out.”

 

“Now you tell me…any world from the people on the planet?”

 

Buzam nodded as Amarone received an incoming transmission from the planet.

 

“We have contact now…”

 

The image of the man who's face they had seen in the transmission was now back on screen and he seemed very much relieved and happy to know that there had been some people who had heeded the desperate request for aid for his beleaguered home-planet.

 

“Thanks for making it here…if you've received the transmission, then I don't need to say who I am…my people and I thank you for making it on time…another few hours…we would have been overrun. Most of our military bases were the first hit…after the aliens made confetti of our space militia, as it is…we don't have a standing military force to lend aid to you all. May I know who you all are?”

 

“My name is Captain Magno Vivian from the Megele pirates.”

 

Trance raised an eyebrow at that.

 

“Pirates?”

 

“I assure you that my crew and I have no intention of pillaging you're world…we have recently encountered these Harvesters ourselves and have seen their grisly handiwork, you're world's not the first that suffered attacks by them and their brutal methods are more horrifying than most would think…these beings see humans as nothing more than crops and live-stock, as such…we cannot turn our back on anyone being attacked by them.”

 

Trance relaxed somewhat and nodded.

 

“For that, I thank you…I know that it will not be much, but we will try and gather whatever troops we can spare to help you're ground forces in pushing these monsters off our world.”

 

“Forgive me Commander Trance, but it would be better that you're forces remain there to defend you're survivors, instead of attacking the Harvesters and getting killed. My brothers and I, along with our squadrons will keep them for spreading any further…once they have been reduced to more manageable numbers…we'll take the fight to their ships in space.”

 

Brandon replied as he was still busy with both contacting the bridge and leading his forces.

 

Trance nodded and smiled.

 

“I understand…best of luck to you all.”

 

Buzam then turned to Brandon and spoke to the leader of their Zoid ground forces.

 

“We still need to take out the Seed Ships Brandon…as long as they remain in orbit, there's no way we can easily win this fight at the rate we are going.”

 

“BC is right…until the Seed Ships are gone, we will still be in a stalemate with them until either us or them give up or get destroyed…any plans on you're end?” Magno asked as the battle continued to heat up.

 

Scott them called in and seemed to have a smile on his face.

 

“I think there's a way we can even up the odds Captain…”

 

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

 

As the battles in both space and the ground intensified, the pirates then began to follow out the plan Scott had in mind…on the ground, the women were able to hold off the Cube Mantises and make sure that the only thing the machines were focused on was them. Both the Gojulas and the Dibisons fired their heavy ranged weaponry into the ranks of the Cube Mantises, resulting in more damage.

 

The rest of the Zoids made sure not to strike at the lower body sections to avoid destroying the cyro-stasis cells that held the people in a state of total helplessness. As soon as they could manage to defeat the Cube Mantises…the pirates on the ground would rag away the lower body sections and try their best to keep the people in them alive…however, they were not always successful and now had to save as many as they possibly could.

 

In space the Dreads were busy as well. The Cube Fighters have developed newer combat tactics to deal with the Dreads and were able to hold their own against the Megele interceptors, however, the women were unwavering in stopping them from taking all the victims they had take from this planet. Meia took out several Cube Fighters using her Dreads beam weapons and missiles, and then takes the fight to a few more that were in her target range, as she moved her Dread about, evading weapons fire and using her shield to dampen the ones she can't dodge, she made sure to be ready to assist her fellow Dread pilots once they needed help.

 

Jura likewise was also busy taking out the Cube Fighters before her, and managed to down three more…Barnette was nearby providing support for her best friend, both pilots were exceptional despite Jura's flighty nature at times, and Barnette's own hot-headedness as they moved and struck with their weaponry, taking out several more Cube Fighters.

 

Dita was very much making her best efforts to defeat the bad aliens and was doing rather well…despite being an apprentice and being the bubbly, cheerful, and innocent redhead that she was, she still had some potent fighting skills in her Dread, and now she was showing why he was a Dread pilot despite her nature as several more Cube Fighters were destroyed.

 

On the ground the Zoid strike team were doing their best to drive back the Cube Mantises and were able to do so despite some them being unable to continue fighting due to considerable damage to their Zoids. The ones that pulled back were escorted to where the Dibison and Gojulas were so they would have a fall back spot and then to also prepare for planetary evacuation. Rin and a band of Saber Fangs and Shield Ligers were on the scene to further ensure evacuation point security.

 

Brandon used his Ion Boosters and charged right into a mess of Cube Mantises and unleashed his Vulcan guns and the results was that several of the Cube Mantises were hit hard and were off balance allowing Brandon and a squadron of Lighting Saix Zoids to charge in and unleash more destructive weapons fire at the Cube Mantises…the Lighting Saix Zoids used their high speed and hologram technology to confuse the Cube Mantises and strike fatal blows against them…and at that moment.

 

“LASER CLAW BLITZ!!!”

 

Brandon attacked with his Strike Laser Claw Technique…aiming directly at the legs of his foes, the claws tore through the joints of the Cube Mantises, as the behemoths fell, the Lightning Saix Zoids and the others, fell upon them and destroyed them…taking care not to destroy the lower body sections.

 

“NINTH BLADE ASSAULT!!!!”

 

Scott's Liger charged with all blades extended and the energy shield all around him. The result was massive damage to the Cube Mantises as the blades and energy shield caused high level damage to his targets, Scott made sure however to aim at the legs of the Cube Mantises and avoid hitting the Lower body sections. He then guided Rikera to leap over some debris and slice off the upper bodies of the Cube Mantises

 

He then got into contact with Buzam and the others back on the Nirvana.

 

“What's the range of the Seed Ships and Cube Fighters?”

 

“They are nearing the target parameters…are you sure this will work?”

 

“It will…provided two things happen…my youngest brother does not miss, and the Seed Ships are nice enough to stand still.”

 

Lance then guided his Zoid to climb up to the vertical base and began to arm up his cannons, Brandon and Scott, along with the other Zoids providing cover for him, and keeping the Cube Mantises from attacking the youngest of the siblings. Duero the Paeksis enhancements to his Liger and his Panzer CAS Armor, he would be able to fire at a very long range and have improved sensors…however, this was an absolute first as the sensors could not reach all the way into space from where he was and thus….he would have to rely on the coordinates handed to him by his brother Scott as the middle sibling coordinated both the defense on the ground alongside Brandon and the containing of the Cube Fighters and the Seed Ships that spawned them with the aid of the Dreads.

 

Lance began to triangulate the exact location and feed in the data coordinates to his targeting computers and then spoke to his Organoid Kail.

 

“You think this will work?”

 

<< “Yes…I just hope we have some targets to hit and the women don't wind up in the firing line…I'm already straining my sensors to full power and range, and they can't handle anymore of it.” >>

 

“Got it…I'm ready brother! Give me the signal…”

 

“All right…wait for it.”

 

In space the Cube Fighters were being herded by the Dreads and kept from escaping, those that were destroyed were ignored as the Dreads were now able to attack the main Seed Ships…there were at least three Seed Ships moving in and unleashing more Cube Fighters, the women were not going to ease up in their attacks as they moved in. The first squadrons of Dreads had just returned after their refueling and re-arming had been done, and the second squadrons were now returning for their own run, they made sure to do it in step in order not to give the Harvester a chance to escape. Some Dreads were out of commission and were not present, the only good news was that there were few casualties among them and their team-mates.

 

Meia looked at her scanners, they were about to enter the firing-zone…right about…now!

 

“All Dreads pull back now!”

 

At that same moment…

 

“NOW!!!” Scott called out to his younger sibling, just as he slashed off the legs of one Sand Mantis.

 

“HYBRID CANNONS!!!!”

 

The powerful cannons mounted on the back unleashed their full power and streaked towards the sky…ripping through the clouds and right into space…however, they were not alone…

 

“BURNING BIG BANG!!!!”

 

Hordes of missiles were also unleashed in a heart beat after the Hybrid Cannons were fired…creating a massive wall of weapons fire that streaked towards the target zone…As soon as they entered space…the barrage found their targets and slammed hard into the Harvesters…

 

Cube Fighters were reduced into scrap and wrecks as they were blown into dust by the beam fire and the missile explosions, two of the Seed Ships were blown to nothing but burning wrecks as they were hit hard by the beam fire from the Hybrid Cannons and exploded as they had been so focused on defending themselves from the Dreads and were unable to reactivate defenses when their CPUs were unable to understand why the Dreads had seemingly halted their attack and their hesitation cost them as they exploded from the assault, the other two had enough time to get their shields up…but the weapons fire had done enough as the sections of their outer armor had been pushed to their limits and had been broken in several places.

 

That was the signal Meia and her Squadrons were waiting for as the Dreads struck en masse on the severely damaged and disoriented Harvester Forces…the pirates had pretended to retreat and fall back…this allowed them to lure the Seed Ships that released Cube Fighters away from the immediately vicinity of the space port and now they had the window and took it.

 

Meia was slightly peeved that the brothers had once more come up with a plan that brought victory to them and she had little to contribute to it…but she admitted that the plan had worked well and this allowed them to now take the fight to the Harvesters and break the aliens' choke hold on the planet. The Cube Fighters were destroyed and the Seed Ship's already severely weakened armor posed no challenge to the Dreads as they destroyed the last two and then directed their attacks on the two Seed Ships that released the Cube Mantises.

 

The battle was now in the favor of the pirates…without any Cube Fighter support or support from their fellow Seed Ships, the Cube Fighters that released the Cube Mantises were forced to halt their deployment of reinforcements to the ones in the planet's surface and attempted to escape, however the Dreads were not going to let them get away that easily…with no Cube Fighter interference and no supporting Seed Ships, the Dreads took their time in finishing off the last Seed Ships.

 

The end result was the Seed Ships could no longer be able to withstand the massive attacks of the Dreads as they were limited to unleashing Cube Mantises and had not been designed for ground operations. Several more combined beam and missile salvos tore through their armor and destroyed their delicate insides…having learned an important detail about the Harvesters and their machines…the pirates made double sure to crush ALL of their forces into nothing but scrap.

 

On the surface of the planet…Brandon and his siblings calmed down and the women under their command cheered wildly as their enemies suddenly froze and were now silent as death or as massive statues…without their Seed Ships to provide them data…the Cube Mantises did the only thing they could…shut down all their combat functions and cease to fight.

 

The battle was over…Cyndra 7 was free…

 

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

 

A few hours later…

 

The Nirvana continued on towards Tarak and Megele, their mission to return home unchanged and their goals still not met. However it had been a rather successful day for all the pirates as they had once more halted the Harvesters, namely for the Zoid pilots. The women in the command of the three brothers had just accomplished their first mission and they had done what they had spent many weeks to do…act as a mobile strike force for the Nirvana on ground missions and they had proven that even though they were still not as talented as the brothers, that they could hold their own as Zoid pilots even if in truth they had little time to become good pilots.

 

It was true that some of them had been injured and they would have to make their own order of repairs on their own Zoids as the damaged Zoids had to be towed back by their comrades, and a lot more work was needed for them to be true pilots as the brothers were…but their first taste of land warfare as Zoid pilots was something else… it was a feeling that they had never felt before…a feeling that made them happy that they were part of this newly forged group of pilots. Brandon and his siblings told them that they did very well for their first ground battle…but told them not to get carried away with first success. They still had much training to complete and more lessons to learn before they could become more skilled pilots and be able to handle their Zoids to the best of their ability. In reward for their success…the brothers decided to prepare a hearty meal for their pilots. The women were very much in a joyful mood as getting a compliment for their piloting skills from master pilots like the Reinhart siblings felt very much welcome.

 

Lance was busy with other matters and would have to come into the kitchen late as Dita rushed up to him as soon as he was out of his Liger's cockpit and the moment he was on the floor of the Nirvana, the redhead glomped onto him and was happy as she can normally be as can be. Lance blushed as his brothers were laughing at him and giving him sly smiles…he could also see the rumbles of amusement and hear the growls that were like laughter as well from the three Liger ZERO Zoids.

 

She then asked if Lance would mind telling her of their travels in the vast galaxy since they had been around a lot before they had ever been part of the crew…with nods of assurance from his brother and their Zoids…along with his own Zoid's nod he agreed and the two moved away…with Dita holding Lance's arm tight…just like a love-struck teen aged girl would hold her life-time crush.

 

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

 

The bridge…

 

Magno and Buzam sighed with relief…their crew had won another battle and they were now back to their original heading of Tarak and Megele. The people of Cyndra 7 were in the process of rebuilding what they could, but they planned on preparing to leave their world if need be…should the alien Harvesters return and finish what they started…

 

Commander Trance was happy for their help and was saddened of the lives that had been lost…their people would recover, but there was a massive funeral for those who were not so lucky when the Harvesters came and did their grisly and horrifying work on them. He was also sad that there was no other way for him and his people to repay the crew for their efforts…he however showed great surprise in seeing Zoids and had remarked that a few years ago…they had seen machines similar to the ones piloted by some of the women…this naturally gained the attention of the women…but even more so for the siblings. Before they had left, the three brothers had insisted on getting whatever information they could on this matter before they left.

 

Though the old woman knew that Brandon and his siblings were not the only people of their dimension to be sent here in their own, from their own admittance… she wondered just what kind of people were from Zi…he could tell that they were a co-gender people…but what were they really like. Regardless, until the brothers were more familiar to her, she would leave them be.

 

He had asked for them to remain to help with the rebuilding, but relented as he knew that their worlds were also under threat…providing supplies in terms of food and needed necessities were the only things he could provide…along with a few maps concerning other possibly inhabited star-systems in the sector of space they would be traveling in. After learning a bit about the three siblings, he wished them the best of luck and speed on their search for their fellow explorers and kin.

 

The old woman sighed and wondered just what other challenges they would have to face soon as they went on their way.

 

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

 

To be continued…

 

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

 

Author's notes:

 

This will be it for now…still have to plan what the Harvesters' ground forces would look like…if you readers have suggestions, please email me or send me comments.

 

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

 

On why Jura, Dita, and Meia were never given ground operations training even if the Zoids had cockpits similar to Dreads. The reasoning is rather simple, they are Dread pilots and more to that, they are needed to lead the Dread Squadrons in combat, if I trained them in ground operations, then who would lead the Dreads in overall combat? If I trained them and included all three of them in ground operations then that would leave the Dreads at a leadership disadvantage, as Meia is the most talented of the Dread Squadron pilots, along with Jura…and the ZoidDreads would not be present in the battle if the Dreads are not in the fight with the Harvesters. If they took to piloting Zoids and were in a ground engagement, that would leave the pirates at a tactical disadvantage should the Harvesters start using more powerful attack units.

 

And in this fanfic…there will be newer weapons in the arsenals of the Harvesters that will soon make their appearance, both on the ground and in space. And this is just round one…so hold on and wait to see just what other demented weaponry the Harvesters have in store for the Nirvana and the pirate crew.

 

Get the idea?

 

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

 

As to the suggestion of an alternate version of ZoidDread with the heroes piloting Berserk Fury Zoids instead of Liger ZERO Zoids…that depends on whether others are interested in the idea. If there is a vested interest and agreement on the plan…then I will consider writing the story, however, for now I will focus on this current idea as having too many plans will be very distracting for me.

 

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

 

(*) - The Cube Mantis is a creation of mine that uses the suggestions of several of the readers who handed me the ideas to create the ground operations unit of the Harvesters, combining several features, namely the size and weaponry of the Cube Fighter and half the height of the AT-AT from Star Wars, and the insect known as the mantis and will never be seen in the anime, nor will be read about in any fanfic.

 

The body is like a Mantis and serves as the place where the victims of the ground operations are stored, plus that section is protected by armor similar to that of the AT-AT so as to ensure their victims are protected for pick-up, similar to the Walker's function as a combat transport…but it instead transports the victims of the Harvesters. Once they have gathered their victims, the Cube Mantises will fight all opposition and await pick-up by their masters.

 

Hope that helped in the description.

 

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

 

Hi….this is Brandon, we've managed to find an abandoned Mission station…and we can do some salvage work here for now.

 

Bro this place is giving me the creeps…something's just not right.

 

Hmmm…what the? Who's there?!

 

Is that a monkey?

 

Who is this guy? I don't trust him guys…

 

Some of the women don't like him either…let's keep an eye on this one.

 

What the?! You…HOW DARE YOU?!

 

Next time on ZoidDread…

 

Chapter 9 - Unwanted company. See you on the battle-field!!

 

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

 

On the next chapter…we get to meet a certain eye patch wearing rat…how will the three fare with this shady character?

 

See you soon!

 

By the way…don't forget that the Reinhart siblings and their parent were not the only ones from Zi that were sent into the dimension of VanDread…and that they are not the only ones with Zoids…what happened to the other Whale Kings…their crew…and their Zoids? That is another unanswered question…and will soon be answered as the series progresses.

 

This will not be the only battle where the pirates will be in ground missions…this is merely the icing on the cake that is ZoidDread. Please send me more comments and suggestions so I can have ideas that I can incorporate into this story.

 

Keep in mind however, flames are NOT welcome here…constructive and helpful critiques are fine, but flames that are there just to annoy me are not worth my time and I will ask for the administrators to delete them.