The Lone Mercenary

By Sakura Courage Solo, sakura_courage_solo@yahoo.com
Sakura's home page http://www.geocities.com/callista_crystalstar/sakura_solos_dreamworld.html

Chapter 4:

"The Empire Returns: Sakura Strikes Back"


This is a good prequel to Van and the Mercenary, which is another of my favorites, posted here. (Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com


Sakura's Disclaimer: I,Sakura Courage Solo,do not own Zoids,Star Wars,or any other Television Show,Movie,Video Game,Song,Book, Comic,etc.featured in this story and I do not get paid for writing these,so don't sue!This goes for all
chapters,so I don't have to write this disclaimer over and over again.Thankyou!And enjoy!

Oh,and many thanks to my best buddy Shadowwolf for posting these for me,seeing as my computer's a baka! Shadowwolf's fics are REALLY good!


Acknowledgements:

Thank you all my loyal fans! I’m so glad you like this fic so far!

To Shadowwolf, Thank you again for posting these for me! I really appreciate it! Hope you like this chapter!

To Alisa Perne,
So you liked seein' Jack get beaten up, huh? Sorry, no Jack bashing in this chapter, but I'll try and put some more in later on! Oh, and I hope ya feel better!

To Wolfy Yee Vvulf [A.K.A. "Wolfy"], Vega? Trust me, this pilot would put Vega to shame! But

I'm glad you liked it! And thanks for your great comment on the Howler Team! Hope you like this chapter, too Wolfy!

To Lightning Dragon, Glad you liked the last chapter, but just so you know, Sakura doesn’t have a crush on Brad. [I could tell
that's what you were thinking.] She just has a strong desire to make friends! That’s all!

To Ancient Zoidian, Thanks! Glad you like this! Hope you enjoy this chapter too! It’s good to know that I have loyal readers like you and everyone else listed here! You guys so rock! Thank you so much!

To ShadowSpinner, Wow! Sounds like everyone liked chapter 3! And, uh, I'll try and watch out for more typos like "Theresa". Of course, I think it may have been an upload error. Oh well. I’ll just be more careful what I type this time! Glad you liked the War Wolf flirting with the pink Command Wolf last chapter! Thanks!

And don't forget! Review the first chapter and receive a special gift attached to the E-mail I will send you! Make sure you leave your E-mail address!

Now, that done, on with the fic!


Chapter 4:

"The Empire Returns: Sakura Strikes Back"

______________________________________________________

"LET'S GO, WAR WOLF!"

I yelled as I brought my Zoid toward the enemy Zaber Fang, claws glowing.

"STRIKE LASER CLAW!!!!"

Before the Zaber Fang's pilot could react to my fast maneuver, the glowing hot claws of my War Wolf tore
into the Zoid's metallic flesh, sheering off the left front leg.

The Zaber Fang fell, system frozen.

"Battle Over! Battle over!"

The Judge yelled.

"The winner is...the Desert Storm Team!"

"All right, War Wolf! Another way past cool win for us!"

I cheered as my Zoid gave a victory roar.

"You tell 'em, War Wolf! We’re invincible!"

The Tigers Team emerged from their system frozen Zoids, looking on at the Sinkers of the Desert Storm Team. But really staring at the camouflage Wolf-type standing among them.

"What kind of Zoid IS that?"

Omari asked in amazement.

"Don't know. Wish I did, though."

Lineback added.

"And...that's a KID piloting that thing?"

Kirkland said, more to himself than anyone.



"Well War Wolf, that’s win number 5 on our winning streak!" said to my Zoid that night as I roasted a weenie over my campfire.

"Man, the Lord's blessing us!"

"Indeed."

The War Wolf agreed.

"It seems as though we are indomitable."

"Say what?"

"Invincible, as you say."

"Oh."

I took a bite of my weenie and looked up at the stars and twin moons. It made me remember the dream I had had
a couple of weeks ago. The one about the Dragon-type Zoid and the white Liger.

"Why am I still thinking about that weird dream?"

I thought to myself.

"It probably does'nt even mean anything. Most likely it was just those jelly doughnuts I ate before going to bed that night, like Fazz said."

The War Wolf nudged me a bit and asked,

"Are you all right, Sakura?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Just...thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"Haha. Very funny. You’re a real riot."

"I thought so."

"Whatever."

I looked back up to the stars.

"Still..."

I thought to myself.

"Can't shake the feeling that there was something about the dream. Something I should know."

I finished my first weenie and began roasting another. Man I was hungry.

"And what were those Zoids? I know one was a Liger, but I'm not sure what kind. Definately a kind I've never
seen before. And that dragon type...I'm completely at a  loss to explain what it was."

I stewed over these same thoughts for a while, only to later still find myself at a loss to explain them.

"When am I going to stop thinking about something so pointless? It’s not like I'm psychic or anything."

I finally decided to go to bed. I had lots of traveling to do the next day and needed to get some rest.

I climbed up into the War Wolf's cockpit and leaned the pilot's seat back a little, then turning over on my
side.

"'Night, War Wolf."

I said, already nearly asleep.

"Good night, Sakura."

My Zoid replied, closing the canopy.

"Sweet dreams."



"Sakura! Sakura, wake up!"

The War Wolf growled a few hours later.

"Sakura! This is an emergency!"

But I was dead to the world.

"Fine. There’s more than one way to skin an Attack Kat."

There was a sudden click as the CD player started up, then loudly blaring "Tutti Frutti" over the speakers, the sound filling the cockpit.

I jolted awake and sat straight up.

"What was that for?!"

I asked, rather cranky.

"Little Richard is not pleasant to hear in the middle of the night y'know!"

"Well I had to wake you up somehow! We've got trouble!"

"What kind of trouble?"

I looked at the scanners. There were 4 Zoids headed our way; all of which were a type of Zoid I had never seen
before.

"Wha-what are those?"

"I'm not sure. But they're definitely not friendly."

"Looks like they've got us surrounded and are closing in fast! We're trapped!"

"It appears as though we have no choice. We must fight."

"Right!"

I clipped my harness and grabbed the controls, then seeing the enemy beginning to close in on the horizon.

The Zoids looked like Ligers, but they were black. And they weren’t Shield or Blade Ligers. They didn’t even
resemble the Liger I had seen in my dream. That Liger was white.

"Don't move, you."

One of the pilots said. He was apparently the leader. His Liger was the only one equipped with a Laser Vulcan Gun. The other 3 all had 50mm Double Barrel Rifles.

"You're comin' with us."

"Who are you?"

I asked, sounding a little more shaky than I had intended.

"What do you want?"

"We just want you, little girl."

Another of the pilots answered.

"You and that Wolf could be very useful to us."

I thought about it a second and said,

"Oh, I get it! You're one of those Zoid Teams that tries to look all mysterious and scary, right? And this is just your way of saying you want to hire me."

"Not that simple."

The leader said smoothly.

"You see, miss Sakura; or should I say 'miss Callista'?;"

I shuddered. How did the guy know my real name?! Like...that pilot in my dream had!

"We're from the Empire, and we want you back!"

I nearly froze. Hadn’t the Empire seen its defeat on the forest moon of Endor just weeks before, when a band of rebels destroyed the second Death Star?

Yes, they had. I KNEW they had! But then...how could they be here?! And after me again no less?!

"Just come quietly, and no one gets hurt."

I growled. Sure, I wouldn’t get hurt if I went with 'em. But I knew why they wanted me. I had been the best pilot in the concentration camp. I even beat a lot of adults during training. They only wanted me for my piloting skills, so they could make me hurt others. Like they had hurt me.

Like they had killed my family.

I couldn’t let that happen. There was no way I was going with them. I had to get away, or die trying.

"Lord help me."

I prayed, now cockpit to cockpit with the leader.

Then, before they knew what had happened, I activated the War Wolf's Strike Laser Claw and jumped the
leader, knocking him out of the way and pushing past.

"Stop her!"

One of the pilots yelled as they all brought their Ligers after me.

"Come on, War Wolf! Keep going!"

I yelled, somewhat frightened.

Suddenly, I saw a shot fired onto the path in front of me, causing me to veer off and get hit by another shot.

"Remember boys, don't hurt her! Just system freeze her Zoid!"

The leader barked.

"Right, boss!"

They all agreed at once, coming right at me.

One of them made a jump for me and I managed to evade. But another one was waiting for that move, Wolf and pinning it down to the ground.

"Not so tough now, are ya?"

The pilot smirked.

"That's what you think!"

I yelled in response, bringing up my Zoid's paws; which now glowed hot with Strike Laser Claw; and knocking him
away.

"Nice one, War Wolf!"

I cried, then having to evade fire from the leader as bullets shot out from his Laser Vulcan Gun.

"You're goin' down, kid!"

He yelled, then trying to hit me with a bum rush.

I jumped to the side in evasion and fired my own Laser Vulcan Gun, hitting his side dead-on.

But as I did so, the other two Ligers attacked from behind, bringing me back down to the ground.

"You're no match for our Shadow Ligers, kid!"

One yelled.

"Shadow Ligers? So that's what those are."

I thought as I tried to bring my Zoid up out of the sand, which now lay flat on it's stomach as the two Shadow Ligers pinned is down.

"I'll never raise my Strike Laser Claw that high and far back..."

I said to myself.

"But maybe..."

The leader stopped in front of me, looking down at my cockpit.

"Gotta admit kid, you're pretty good."

He told me.

"No one's ever even been able to leave a mark on us. You took one of us down."

He gestured over to the system frozen Shadow Liger that laid motionless nearby.

"No wonder Vader's so adamant about getting you back."

"Vader's dead, you baka!"

I yelled, throwing out my Wild Weasel Units on either side. This knocked my captors away as I leapt up and
made a run for the nearest outcropping.

"Come on, War Wolf! We can't let those Imperial knuckleheads catch us!"

I stopped at the edge of the outcropping and revealed my Wild Weasel Units again, then taking quick but
accurate aim and firing on the bewildered Shadow Ligers below, sending them into system freezes.

"Way to go, War Wolf!"

I yelled as we admired our work. But then...

"Wait a second...one...two..."

I counted the paralyzed Zoids.

"Uh-oh. We missed one!"

"You mean me?"

A voice said from behind.

I whirled my Laser Vulcan Gun around to fire at the leader, who had apparently snuck up on me while I was
busy.

But I found myself too late as his Zoid let out a roar and he fired his weapon onto the rock between us, causing the outcropping I was standing on to break away.

I let out a scream as I fell, then hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

"You're REALLY good."

The leader said, though I didn’t hear him. I had been knocked unconscious during the fall.

"But not good enough."

He turned to start down the desert rocks and come after me. But then...

"Goin' somewhere?"

A voice said from the Zoid that now blocked his path.

He went to attack, but his Shadow Liger was suddenly put out of commission as a shot from the cannon on his
opponent's back shot his own Zoid right in the neck, sending it into a system freeze.

"That's it for you."

The pilot thought, observing the leader's unconscious face on the comlink.

He then dashed down the rocks and next to my War Wolf, then jumping out of his own Zoid and over to
mine, where he opened the canopy and pulled me out.

The sudden motion awakened me and I opened my eyes, then looking into those of my rescuer.

"Brad?"

I said in a whisper, looking up at him.

He put a hand to my forehead and said,

"Hang on. I'm gonna get you out of here, all right?"

I simply nodded as I slipped back into silent darkness.



I felt a warm blanket wrapped around me as I began to come to. My body ached in places I didn’t even know I had. I felt like one big bruise.

I then realized what had happened and my eyes shot open. I found myself looking at a ceiling.

"Where am I?"

I wondered, looking over to see Brad, having his hands in what looked like a basin of water.

He looked at me and said,

"So, you're awake. How do ya feel?"

"Like I fell off a cliff."

I replied, unintentionally letting my bad mood caused by the pain slip into my voice.

Brad brought a washcloth out of the basin and wrung it, then patting it on my forehead.

"The doctor said you mainly just got shaken up. Nothing serious."

He said, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Just try to relax."

I observed the room around me, realizing that I was in a hospital room.

Perfect. I just loooooove doctors all poking at me.

That was meant sarcastically, I hope you all know.

"Where's the War Wolf?"

I asked, just then thinking about it.

"It's in a repair shop across town."

Brad replied, pulling my covers up to my neck.

"Who were those guys that were after you, anyway?"

Ouch. Of all the questions he had to ask. How was he supposed to understand that it was the Empire? And even
if he did, he'd realize that I was the one who had escaped the Zoid Battle Commission about a month ago.

"I...uh...I don't know."

I lied.

Brad looked at me with his sapphire blue eyes, as though he could see right through me. As though he knew
I wasn’t telling the truth.

And I think he did.

"Sakura, I know they were from the Empire. I heard one of them say it."

I felt my heart sink. I knew he probably knew the rest too.

Then, as though he could tell what I was thinking, Brad said,

"Look, Sakura, I'm not gonna turn you in to the ZBC. I don't care if you did escape."

That clenched it. But, why wasn’t he going to...

"You must've had a good reason for running away from such a safe place. A VERY good reason. I just want to know what that reason is."

I fell silent, my memory suddenly flooded with images of everything that had happened. I wasn’t really sure that Brad would believe me.

Then again, Brad had helped me out of a couple of tight spots. Helping me. Like...like a friend.

I suddenly forgot about my 'loneliness curse'. I didn’t care. Curse or no curse, Brad was my friend. Only a real friend would do what he did for me.

And friends...tell each other things. Things they never tell anyone else.

"All right."

I began with a sigh.

"But you may not like what you're about to hear."


Preview of next chapter:

Yo! Brad here!

Man, Sakura! I had no idea your past was anything like that! No wonder you seem to be on the run!

Well, tell ya what. With the Empire on your tail like this, it's really dangerous for you to be by yourself. You can travel with me from now on. Besides, it gets pretty lonely on those long trips between towns.

Say what? The Empire captures me in an attempt to draw Sakura out? Not good. Now I've gotta escape before they
get Sakura!

Big thing is, I thought the Empire was defeated. How can they be...wait, there's a NEW VADER?!?! Oh, boy. Talk
about outta the frying pang and into the fire!

And who's this guy hangin' with Sakura? It's like he can see stuff before it happens. Sorta creeps me out.

Next time on "The Lone Mercenary"

"Brad's Capture: Sakura and the Jedi"

See ya on the battlefield!



Well, how'd everybody like chapter 4? Way past cool, I think! Hope you liked it as well! If any of you fans out there have any questions or comments, post a review or E-mail me.

More thanks to my bestest best buddy Shadowwolf for posting these for me! You guys should read her fics,
too! She's way past cool!

See ya!



The Lone Mercenary


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