Midnight Raid (Pothe and Blue)

[Blue Flyhight]

The Tigris known as Spirit crept through the dark, silent as a shadow. Its dark, midnight coating absorbed all light, but it wouldn't have mattered. The moon wasn't out tonight. You would've have had to have had super hearing to notice that the zoid was there at all.... either that, or you'd have to walk into it. But there was no one out in the middle of the desert to walk into a Tigris. But then, why would it even be there in the first place?

A building, looming in the distance seemed to answer the question. It was very large, bigger than most team bases. And though there were no outward signs of danger... no wait, there were. As the Tigris got closer to the building, there were many, "Danger: Stay Away" signs. The pilot of the Tigris felt a shiver go down her spine. This place, had once been a military base where new weapons were tested. It was shut down though, after there were too many "accidents." Whatever "accidents" meant, no one knew. At any rate, it had been bought by a zoids equipment company ten years ago. But no matter what it was now, the signs were still there. And the feeling of death still hung around the place, like a bad odor that just wouldn't go away. Blue wouldn't have been surprised if some of those deaths that seemed to be hanging around in the air were recent. She was sure this was where this new company conducted their part tests too. Afterall, this place was supposed to be secret.

But a secret can only be a secret if it's never told to anyone. A secret that's kept by more then one person is sure to get out some time. And to those with hacking skills, that information can be even more readily available.

But Blue was getting close. The building was sure to have alot of security, though she actually doubted that there'd be any guards inside. No, this place was more likely to have sleepers, and one of the more complex security systems the world has ever known. For a moment, the Tigris paused as its pilot contemplated her options. Usually she was an impatient person, but not when she was on a job.

I could either go on foot, or take Spirit with me. No doubt the first security cameras are in those signs up ahead. I'm far enought away from the cameras right now, but any closer and they'll spot me for sure. Spirit may be able to hide from human eyes, but not from core-sensitive cameras. On the other hand, I could go on foot. It'll be easier to make it past the cameras and some of the security measures, but I may need Spirit for a few things if I need to jump or burrow over anything. Plus, if I get caught, it'll be easier to escape if Spirit's waiting for me right outside the building. If only the cameras were facing the other direction or something.... She certainly couldn't walk up, that was for sure. One of the cameras would spot her if she tried to turn another camera. But, it might be possible to do it from right here. In fact, Blue thought she had an idea.

"This might not work," she muttered. "But it's the best option I've got."

Blue zoomed in on the first sign and prepared to fire her anti-zoid rifles. Technically, compared to a zoid battle, this wouldn't be a hard shot. Neither was the target moving, nor was it trying to shoot back at her. But if Blue was off, she either miss or objective completely, or she'd set the security alarm off. And though she might not actually get caught, she'd leave empty handed which was against the point of the enterprise. "Right, here goes nothing."

Blue squeezed the trigger and held her breath. Two blast flew from the anti-zoid rifles toward the camera. One, didn't get anywhere near the sign, as far as things were concerned. But the shot on the right, passed within millimeters of the camera... right on target. The shockwave from the shot sent the sign spinning. Blue let out a sign of relief. So it was possible to turn the cameras, now it just relied on dumb luck. Round and round, the sign goes. Where it stops, nobody knows.

Slower and slower, until finally, the sign stopped moving all together. Blue could have leaped into the air, screaming with triumph. But many years of practise had taught her otherwise. She contented herseld to raise a fist into the air before returning her attention upon the other camera. This time, it took two shots for the sign to stop spinning in a position Blue found satisfactory.

Again, she proceeded catiously, scanning the area with her sensors to find any trace of anything that might be electronic. Though limited, Spirit's sensors could do that. There was an invisible electric fense in between her and the factory. But there were openings. Too bad they were guarded by cameras. Oh well, the same process as before did the trick nicely.

It seemed as if the way to the factory might be home free, but Blue knew better than that. Again, she swept the area for electronics. She pursed her lips in annoyance. There seemed to be a mine field of sorts used to detect intruders in between her and the factory. There were some patchy areas---why? Perhaps because the cicuitry had shorted out or beacuse the company liked to tease would-be theifs. Blue thought for a moment. Spirit, was extremely agile, being a cat and all. But Blue wasn't sure if her skill was to the level that required her to make such leaps. And then there was a certain pattern she'd have to make which she could figure out easily, but still.

Well, I've made it this far.

Blue almost closed her eyes as she went for the first jump. But then, that was a stupid thing to do. She forced them to remain open. It was a leap of faith. Not in her Tigris, but in herself and her abilities. And despite her eyes being pysically open, Blue knew that mentally, she was squeezing them shut as tightly as she could; it took her a few minutes to register the fact that she had made it. Blue then let out a breath she hadn't even known that she'd been holding.

The next jump was easier. There was a confidence there that hadn't been there before. And the jump after that, and the jump after that... and she made it. As far as Blue's sensors knew, there was nothing in between her and the building now but a few cameras. These, were easier to navigate than the previous ones. Because of the building's and security system's setup, there were already a few blindspots that Blue could exploit. Just big enough for a zoid about the size of a Tigris. And when Blue had made it to the wall of the building, she opened up her cockpit, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. She hadn't realized how stale the air in her cockpit had become, despite filters. But then, that breath of frsh air after you first got out of your cockpit after a zoid battle, always felt like nothing else. Still, Blue stood there for a moment: breathing in deeply and allowing the air to cool her burning hot body.

Now Blue considered her options of getting inside the building. She saw a vent off to the side, but only an idiot would deside to take that route in; vents were always covered in sensors. The safest way in would to make a hole in the roof. Sure, it was leaving evidence, but then the company that worked here was gonna find out that Blue had stolen something anyway.

Blue reached down into Spirit's cockpit and pulled out a tool kit. She was already wearing her night-visions contacts. They also had an ifrared mode and several others. Taking out a grapling hook and wire from the backpat, she swung up towards the top of ther roof. There was a satisfying clink as Blue felt it grabbed onto something. Making sure she was all ready to go, Blue grabbed her carribeaners and started to climb. Climbing, however, never took long. Blue was an expert at it. Before she knew it, Blue was on the roof. Switching to x-ray mode, Blue realized she was above a lab. This was perfect. Security in here would be more lax, and she would probably be able to access the security system through the computer in there and turn it off.

Blue took out a small laser. Perfect for cutting through.... anything. Attaching a clamp to the selected spot, Blue went to work at cutting away the roof. Finally, there was a space big enough for herself to slip through. Checking one more time for any cameras or sensors, Blue repositioned the grappling hook and prepared for descent, landing with s soft thud on the ground below.

[Pothe White]

Pothe stiffled a yawn as she watched Blue, via long-range sensors, pilot her tigris very well past the cameras. She was lucky not have alerted anyone with those shots. Suddenly, the tiger zoid began hopping from place to place. From a quarter mile away, Pothe couldn't detect why exactly, but she assumed mines of a sort.

How did I get dragged into this? she grumbled, drinking cold coffee. After two consecutive battles, both tiring beyond belief, she decided to go with Blue on an "expeditition", which ended up being a heist. Pothe had no morale qualms about stealing, just not after zero hours of sleep. Her coffee supply was almost out and her first aid kit didn't include caffine pills. "That's what I'll  need to pick up after we leave. Caffine pills," she muttered.

The Blade pilot watched the thief use a UCT (Universal Cutting Tool) to cut a nice hole in the roof. Her first job done, Pothe activated a sequence she had installed on Thayli's comm systems. They hacked all channels, even minor sub-channels, and listend for key words like "intruder" or "thief' or any other words indicating Blue. Thayli's pilot leaned back to streatch her arms and legs and realized her mistake. Her eyes shut hard enough to make a sound, her arms and legs went slack. To any outsider, Pothe was sleeping. Unfortunately for the pilot, she was still mostly awake. Her mind grumbled at the injustice in the universe.

About half an hour passed before a beep woke her body up. She looked down at the scan read-outs and saw someone approaching behind her, on foot. Judging by his resperation and rate of heartbeat, he was running and had been for awhile. A camera on a leg swung to face him and zoomed to detail his features. He turned out to be a short, slightly pudgy man who was going bald. He ran past the Gunsniper BOAS, not even noticing the giant velociraptor-type zoid in all black. He rushed to the cameras and began to fix them, pointing them their propers ways.

"BEEP! BEEP!" the console cried in alarm, alerting Pothe that a pre-programmed word had been uttered. She tuned into the transmission. "Sir, there's an unidentified Gunsniper, heavily modified, standing about a quarter mile, maybe more, away from the edge of the cameras," a man said, sounding winded.

Oh that decieiving sonofa- her train of thought was cut off by a response. "Keep an eye on it while you fix the cameras. We're sending a team to investigate."

"Yessir. Over and out," the man replied. He finished the cameras and, after Pothe looked down at her instruments to make sure no zoids were close then looked up, was gone. "How? Where?" she stuttered. She rewinded the tape and watched him enter a small entrance near a camera. "Sneaky. Thank you, Mr. Repairman," she praised. Her fingers flew across a console, locking eveything down unless she entered a certain code. Pothe grabbed her flashlight, pistol, and leaped out of her zoid. She patted Thayli's leg before taking off down the tunnel. In her hand she keyed a small radio several times, telling Blue she left her post and had been discovered, but to finish the mission.

[Blue Flyhight]

There was a vibrating noise, and Blue's hand automatically reached down to her pocket. It dipped in and out, leaving, this time, with a radio of sorts. Actually, it was more of a beeper set on vibrate mode. She frowned slightly, as she examined the message on it. Pothe had been discovered. So much for that plan, she thought drily. But then, Pothe had told her to continue onward. Well of course I'll continue onward, she snorted mentally. Blue had complete faith in her abilities to get out of a tough situation. If she couldn't save Pothe, Blue knew that she could at least get what she wanted and escape the building ok. But first, there was the issue of the computer.

Blue walked over to it tenatively, moving from side to side as she avoided the eyes of cameras. Her contacts still didn't pick up any scanners and she was avoiding getting caught on film, but Blue knew there could still be hidden surprises that not even her contacts could pick up. There was a camera focused on the computer. Much more easily than the one outside, Blue squeezed herself as close as she could to under the wall without touching it (there were sensors in it, of course) and then walked until she was under the camera. Her gloved hand reached up, and lightly grabbed the base, turning it oh so slowly. She knew the guards would have noticed that she had turned the cameras if they had caugth Pothe. They would be looking for disturbances (or maybe not because maybe they had already caught Pothe.) At any rate, this way, there was a less likely chance of them noticing. When Blue had moved it the least amount she could get without the camera catching her, Blue headed over to the computer.

Her fingers paused over the 'on' button. She was a pretty decent hacker. She could turn off the security system, or even fool it if she needed too, but Pothe had offered her an easier option. And being a better hacker, Blue knew that Pothe's idea most likely would work better. This had better work, Blue thought. She was no mechanic certainly, and if Pothe was captured, this would in no way help their situation.

She opened the panal of the computer, beneath the monitor. As she did so, she pulled out a computer chip from her backpack. She would've muttered incoherantly outloud to herself, if it wouldn't have been noticed. As it was, Blue had to settle with conversing in her mind instead.

Lesse... Pothe said the chip could connect to any of the wires, as long as they're attached to the mother board. Well, no trouble there. Just about everything was attatched to the mother board.

Selecting a long, blue wire, Blue took and attached the chip to it, near its entry into the mother board. She hoped that this might make it easier for Pothe to communicate with the computer... So it was done. The chip Blue had just installed, would allow Pothe to opperate the entire security system from a handheld. Of course, the computer it was using would have to be on first; Blue's hand pressed the on button, while turning off the monitor. No extra light to alert the camera or the filters.

Sidiling back over the the camera, Blue considered turning it back to its original position. Again, she had two options here. If Pothe could successfully control the system, Blue wouldn't need to turn the camera back. Plus, it would be a bonus if they needed to access the very same computer again in a hurry. But, if Pothe had been captured, the security guard would most likely notice that something was up. What she needed was some sort of comfirmation that Pothe was ok. But it was too risky for Blue to attempt to contact her now. Perhaps Pothe would somehow contact Blue, or perhaps there was a way to try and contact Pothe without alerting anyone else? Blue pulled out her beeper. It had the same cpabilities as Pothe's, perhaps she could use it to access the security system and find Pothe that way. But the screen was incapable of showing video. Or, thought Blue, feeling stupid that she hadn't thought of this up until this point. Or I could just use the built in tracking device to find where Pothe is.

Clicking a few buttons, a graph of sorts showed up on screen. Blue knew she must be at the center, and that the moving dot in the corner over there, had to be Pothe. So it appeared she wasn't captured then. It would be safe enough, she reasoned, to send Pothe a message.

"Computer system hooked up," it said.

Now, thought Blue. There's only one thing left to do. Hook up with Pothe.

Blue walked catiously over to the door. (She would not relax about the security system until she recieved a reply that Pothe was now in control, and even then she'd still be a bit jumpy.) She would wait for a go from Pothe, before venturing out into the hallway.

[Pothe White]

Pothe trapsed across the desert, keeping an ear and a eye out for pursuit. She made her way to the access hatch, careful to avoid the cameras. She opened up and was surprised how soundlessly it moved. Cool,she thought and started climbing down the ladder, remembering to shut the lid. The darkness of the tunnel was absolute. Pothe couldn't make out her hand, even in front of her face. She had to go on skill as she climbed down the ladder, making sure of each rung's support and being silent as a mouse. Her breath began getting heavy as she reached the bottom, her left foot hitting hard syrface. Something was jabbing into her ribs and Pothe almost smacked herself. She had forgotten she had a flashlight; though, in her defense, she didnt want to be seen.

Her radio buzzed silently. Pothe grabbed it and saw a message for her: "Computer system hooked up." Nice, Blue. Now, to make sure security sees nothing...  Pothe quickly sent a pre-programmed transmission to the central computer in charge of the cameras. They all began to do a playback, seeing what they saw for the past three minutes only. She typed a message back to Blue in shorthand.

"B, all don. cameras no see u. hav fun."

Before the Blade pilot put away the radio, an alarm from Thayli told her that four Command Wolves were closing in on it fast. Pothe nodded to herself and sent a command back, telling her Gunsniper BOAS to run like hell and wait for a return signal. Thayli acknowledged took off, hopefully convincing security that no one was already inside. She put her radio away and unholstered her handgun. Always better to have it out, then to be waste time drawing it. She walked, with enough stealth to make a cat envious, along the tunnel, lit only by small red lights. Her first plan was to find a way into the building. Her second plan was to find Blue. Pothe was still forming a third plan.

[Blue Flyhight]

"B, all don. cameras no see u. hav fun."

Blue couldn't help but grin. It had worked, Pothe knew her stuff. Now all that remained was to meet up with her. She would probably be running around the bottom floor; Blue would find some stairs.

Blue went up to the door, checking to see if it was locked. It required a code and hand-identification to open. Blue rolled her eyes at the security system, here was were they went wrong. The problem with codes, was that they could be cracked. And the problem with hand identification, was that it always left a mark where you had to place your hand. In preperation, Blue pulled out a rubber glove, some form of liquid in a spray bottle, and some kind of white powder. The first part was the powder. She opened it carefully, as Blue had seen the messes one could make if it was spilled. Taking about two-pinchfuls of powder, Blue held it flat upon her hand. Holding it up in front of the scanner, Blue blew softly. The delicate powder flew into the air in swirls, heading straight for the scanner and then landing on it, sticking where hand prints had been made. Next, Blue went to work on cracking the code. Reaching back into her backpack, Blue pulled out a scanner. Now, whoever had invented it, was a genius. (Her aunt, actually.) It was simple, you could hold it up to a lock, and it would figure out the numbers used in the code, and then using information taken from the computer used in the lock, tell you the exact code. It was custom, and one of a kind; Blue's most valuable tool in her thieving kit. It took a few minutes to come up with an answer though.

Blue tried not to fidget as she waited. Finally, 0726-4587 came up on the little screen. Blue stuck it in a holster on her right arm near the wrist. This way, she wouldn't have to memorize the code, and Blue would be able to look at it as she was typing it in.

Blue now put the rubber glove on her left hand, and took the squirt bottle. She sprayed it until the surface of the glove was wet, then she stuck it on the scanner. The powder, which was designed to take in the DNA of whatever it touched, or in this case the leftover skin cells on the scanner, stuck immediately to the liquid on the glove, and the pressure of Blue's hand against the scanner made it activate. Blue now quickly typed in the code and the door opened. She stepped into the hallway as the door closed behind her; Blue was blowing on her hand. When the liquid dried, the powder would still be on there, and Blue could use the glove to open any door.

Now.... I wish I had a map, she thought, as Blue looked at the two directions she could take. She was in a long hall, with many doors. Probably more labs. She should've thought of hacking into that computer back in the room to get a map, but so much for that. Maybe Pothe could download a map once Blue met up with her.

Einy, meany, miny, moe, catch a Tigris by the toe... I choose, left.

Blue walked quickly off down the left branch, still being careful to avoid any sensors that might be in the vicinity. As Blue walked down the hallway, she had to admit it definately gave the creepy evil lab feeling. Everything was white, very white. And Blue could tell it would've been alot brighter if the lights weren't dimmed. It was funny how the color white could creep you out, (Blue shivered) but it did. And then Blue figured it out. It wasn't the fact that white was a creepy color, it was the fact that the hallway was devoid of any other color then perhaps black. The hallway was completely colorless, it wasn't---what was the word she was looking for?---normal. But then, if life was normal, it wouldn't be any fun.

There was a corner up ahead, the hallway went on. Blue vaguely wondered if there might be a platoon of guards waiting for her around it, but then, this was years of stealing and paranoia speaking. It was when the feeling became strong that Blue began to listen to it. As Blue reached the corner, a flash of brilliant red, the only other color she'd seen since entering the base, caught her attention. Blue stopped, and looked over to see some color shining through a door. Again, checking for sensors, Blue walked up to it and looked through the window. It was, a smallish hanger with some zoids in it. Curiousity overcame the cat, and Blue decided to go in. She checked to see if the door was locked, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't. She grabbed the handle with her gloved hand, opening it quietly and going inside. There were, no sensors in here, at least not from what Blue could tell. Blue first looked over at the zoids. There were a Gunsniper, and a Blade Liger. There was a rather large looking computer system next to each of them, and one extra computer next to what looked like another spot for a zoid. Surprisingly, the monitors were on.

I wonder how they got the zoids in here, thought Blue as she walked over to look at the nearest zoid, the Gunsniper. We're on the third floor. Blue's curiousity had to be satisfied, and she looked around. Aside from the tiny door she had entered from, which, by the way was no where near big enough for a zoid, there were no other points of entrance. Some inner voice told Blue to look up, and she found her answer. There, was a large garage door. A Whale King probably lowered through it and dropped the zoids of here. The hanger was certainly big enough to fit a Whale King, so it made sense. However, Blue was very happy to see it for another reason. Here, was her back door. Her old point of entrance would most likely be found after she and Pothe left, but here was a door in the roof, just waiting to be used. She had a few chips left (in case the one Blue'd installed wouldn't work), Blue'd just climb up there and attach it to the scanner. No problem.

Taking out her grappling hook again, Blue swung it upward. When the grappling hook was within a foot of the door, it began to lose momentum, but then suddenly sped upward again. This one was magnitized.

Again, Blue shimmied up the rope. She took out a screw driver when she reached the top and took off the box covering with it. She reached into her back pocket, taking out a chip, and carefully attatching it to the wires. This was not that same thing as the computer had been, but there were only a few wires and a computer chip. This should work.

Descent was swift. Blue had basically let go with everything but her hands and she let gravity do the work. Blue was thankful that she was wearing gloves, otherwise she would've gotten rope burn. She gave the rope ten sharp tugs in succession once she'd reached the bottom, and the grappling hook fell towards the ground. Blue made sure she caught it; if it had hit the floor, the results might've been disastorous. Blue put the grappling hook and her screw driver back in her backpack and then pulled out the beeper. Well, here went nothing; it would either work it it wouldn't.

Blue activated the chip, and two options showed up on her screen: Open or Close. There we go, thought Blue smirking. She would be sure to hit this place again.

Blue then remembered the zoids and the three monitors. She turned to face them, adressing the two zoids first. They were just normal zoids of their kind, which was funny, because Blue somehow expected more. She'd figured that the reason this hanger was up here was because the zoids might be experimental and they'd be near the labs this way. But maybe Blue was wrong. Perhaps the monitors would tell more?

Blue walked up to the first monitor near the Gunsniper. There was a blueprint on it reading: "Genosniper." The zoid on the blueprint was nothing Blue had seen before. It was a modification of the Sniper series for sure, but according to the blueprint, it had a CPC. Pft, why would a sniper zoid need a CPC? They're fine the way they are. Blue felt rather touchy about it. The Desert Tigers had piloted mostly snipers, and Blue considered herself somewhat of an expert on them. The pride of the gang was her brother's Snipe Master, now that was a zoid...

But what about the other two computers? Blue walked over the Blade Ligers. Again, there was a blueprint on it. This one was a variation of a Blade Liger (wow, what a surprise....). "Mirage Liger." This zoid, Blue preferred. Though she liked Snipers better, her piloting style was more Blade Ligerish. This one combined the close-combat skills of a Blade Liger with cloaking technology. But what about the third monitor? Blue walked over to it and found another blueprint. This one, was a Konig Wolf, plain and simple. Perhaps they were still getting the zoid and planning on what they'd do with it.

At any rate, then, Blue's theory had been correct. The scientists here, were planning to modify the zoids, using the nearby labs.

There was no more time to waste though; Blue and Pothe weren't here for zoids. No, they wanted parts. It had been, spontanoius, their descision to come here, really. Blue had been the only one up in the team base when Pothe had gotten back from a battle. Blue hadn't really known Pothe very well, but they had hit it off pretty well. The reason why Blue had even been up at that hour, though, was because she had already been planning on going on a raid. Two years spent in a dessert... well, Blue felt the need to steal. And so, she had asked if Pothe might wanna go along, figuring that Pothe might enjoy it and realizing that two working on a job was easier than one. Plus, they both wanted more parts for their zoids. After a little persuasion, well, here they were.

Blue closed the door softly behind her. She'd only been in there ten minutes at most, but that was ten minutes waisted and Blue and Pothe needed to be out of there by four. That's when people would start showing up. They probably had about two and a half hours left.

Now done with the hanger, Blue turned the corner in the hallway. And miracle upon miracles, there was stairs! Blue made her descent down to the first floor.

[Pothe White]

Scowling, unable to find a single place out of these damned tunnels, Pothe scurried along the metallic floor, her boots making a dull metallic thud. She had already met a guard at a door and kncked him unconsoius, but the door had led nowhere. K'so! she growled.

A sudden light appeared, a faded red neon light. One that usually came from a keypad or EXIT sign. Pothe found her way to the keypad that required a keycard. She sighed and pulled out a flathead screwdriver from one of her vest pouches. One flaw behind Mearo-Mac's electronic locks were that they had a small sensitive spot on the back. Push on it hard enough and the door will slide open. Using the flathead, Pothe opened the door and found herself looking down a barrel of a rifle.

"Come with me," the lone guard said.

They must be really lacking people if they can only put a single guard to a door. It might help if they didnt guard doors with no use. Pothe rolled her eyes and swiped the gun to the side with the back of her left hand. Using her right and ducking low, she jabbed him in the gut, htting his solarplexes. The guard tried to gasp for breath and dropped the rifle. The pilot smashed his head in to the wall, knocking him unconsious. She glanced in and had to supress a giant grin. A computer geek was sitting at his workstation, his face in terror as he stared at the Blade pilot. His hands were above the air before he remembered to press a red button underneath his desk for security. Pothe unholstered her gun and waved him to the wall. "Get over there and sit down," she said. The kid nodded and did as he was told.

Pothe picked up the rifle, along with some extra rounds, and glided over to the computer. It looked like an older model,  but as soon as she began inputing code into it, she knew better. This was top-of-the-line, cutting edge. It was lightning fast, and was now subjected to Pothe's whim. She raced her fingers along the keyboard, setting the whole system up. She pulled out a small CD and inserted it. The virus contained on it activated, searching for what it was programmed to look for. It laid dormat at the feet of its prey, waiting for the activtation code.Pothe flipped out her radio and sent rapid instructions to Thayli. Then, she sent the code to the virus, having it infect and destroy and alter while she sent the GO signal to Thayli.

Outside, the Gunsniper BOAS launched a single missle, letting it fly over the base. It was shot down, which exploded a small ion charge. While the charge wouldn't be powerful enough to scramble any sensors, the virus was. It gave false info, saying that almost half the base was (where, conveintly, Blue was) in electronic silence. Pothe got up to leave when her knee depressed something under the desk. She looked under and saw something small, red, button-shaped with the words "SECURITY" printed on it. "Aw crap," she muttered. She holstered her handgun and slung the rifle over her shoulder. Making sure her program was secure and couldnt be tampered with, she took off running. Pothe managed about 50 yards away from the computer room when a warning shout came at her and bullets started whizzing by.

One side-affect of having the virus was that it made sure to cripple their communications. The radios were not working well, the air full of static that blocked over ninety percent of what someone said. Therefore, try as they might, the guards couldn't summon back-up, at least conviently. Pothe side-stepped into an alcove, narrowly avoiding being hit by a hail of bullets. She pulled a flashbang from under her vest and tossed it down the way. She was rewarded with a bullet wound to the arm. Pothe gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as the grenade exploded, blinding and deafening all. Pothe opened her eyes, and glanced down the hall. The guards were rubbing their eyes furiously, trying to restore eyesight. Most were opening and closing their mouths, apparantly trying to say something and having their voice fall on deaf ears.

Pothe raced forward and kicked the first guard in the shin, tripping him. She ripped of his shirt and took off. Almost 30 yards were ran before her ears began ringing, indicating that sound was coming back to her. Pothe found a maintence closet, of all things, and slipped inside. She used the guards shirt to wrap her bullet-wounded arm in a tight bandage. The Blade pilot positioned stuff around her and effectively hid from sight. She pulled out her radio and sent a quick message:

Will be late. Steal blades for me. Painkillers would be nice too.

[Blue Flyhight]

"Will be late. Steal blades for me. Painkillers would be nice too."

Blue, was about halfway down the stairs when she recieved the message. She pursed her lips in deep concentration; though simple, the message confused her. Painkillers, what would that mean? Then the meaning of the message hit her. And Blue---though she was a person who didn't like curse words---couldn't help but utter the thought, Damn.

Blue, again, found herself caught between two options. And coincidently, two directions: up or down, which was also how this mission could turn out. It all hinged on her next descision. Option number one: She could find the parts and get the heck out of here, meeting up with Pothe later. Option number two: She could go help Pothe, and either escape or get themselves both caught. Getting the goods seemed like the better option. Pothe was a big girl, she could take care of herself. And at the very least, Pothe was providing a distraction.

So right back up it was, back to the second floor, which she had passed moments ago. She opened the door catiously and quietly. Pothe's discovery, had made her wary, to say the least. Though Blue was pretty much sure that she was safe at the moment, that nagging thought at the back of her head---the one that kept on screaming that she'd be caught---was slowly making its prescense ever-known in the conscioussness. Relax, Blue told herself. You'll do something stupid and get caught this way.

The second floor: Blue geussed that this might be were parts were kept. Not the big stuff, like the weapons, but more like cockpit systems. Or maybe even organoids. In truth, that [i]was what Blue hoped to find: a fused organoid system which she would then install in Spirit. The system would give Blue a boost in battle strength, buy it was mainly for reasons other then that. The reason being, that Blue still couldn't figure out if zoids---Spirit---was alive or not. Most of the time they were just machines, but everynow and again, Spirit would do something that wouldn't bother her unduly at first, but that she would later realize that the zoid's action had been almost... human. Of course, almost all scientists had done tests and said that zoids weren't alive. Blue wasn't sure if it was just her perception, or if it was really true that zoids had thoughts and feelings. And organoid system, Blue thought, would solve all that. She knew that zoids such as the Liger Zero were alived, and that was because of their fused organoid systems. And so, if she installed one, it would be end of story. No more doubts. Of course, then she'd have to deal with the fact over asking Spirit if he even wanted to fight in zoid battles, but then, she could deal with that later.

Meanwhile, Blue's contact lenses went to work. She quickly scanned each room with x-ray vision. This, would be much easier then checking each room personally. What do I look for exactly?... Mmm, I geuss anything with the words, 'fused' or 'organoid' on it.

Three doors down, Blue found exactly what she was looking for. There were a bunch of boxes lined up on shelves, the word 'fused' on them. Bingo. Well, not really. She had to get to them first.

The first thing Blue should've realized, was that there wasn't that much security to enter the room. In fact, the door wasn't even locked. But did the thought, 'that's weird' even enter her mind at the moment? Yes, but only for a few seconds. Blue continued to check for any sign of something being wrong, but it just wasn't there. And so she relaxed: the biggest mistake a thief could ever make. It was the biggest cause of death in failed robberies (the second being that you had broken into a building, and then realizing that you'd left your thieving kit at home). In this instance, Blue got lucky. She wasnt caught, no secret traps to set off. But, as Blue was to find out, it would have later implications.

And the fact that it might buzzed in Blue's consciousness as she walked up to the rack the held the product she so desired. It was just sitting there, no strings attached. And Blue refused to let that paranoia that something might go wrong get in her way. She reached out, and for a moment held her breath. Her hand closed around the package and then pulled it back in. After a few moments of standing there and realizing that nothing had happened, Blue realized that she was safe.

She glanced down at her watch on instict (she was always checking it during the day). Only about an hour left, yikes! Blue knew it would take much longer to get Pothe's blades, and there was only one place that could be. The basement floor. That, would be where all the parts were kept in storage. And if Blue knew anything from movies and tv (plus experiance) there would be only one entrace to the basement: elevator. This, would be the hard part.