((Mia, you can judge this if you want, I just wanted to get this set up so they can begin straight away. ~MD))

Dorian Jacobs and Robert Maximus sat in opposing VR chairs in specially designed motion-simulator units. Sophisticated? Yes. As expensive as hosting a true Zoids battle? Hardly. This was the temporary arena, a high-tech simulator battle that was, for all intents and purposes, real. New acceleration compensation units could simulate exactly the kind of stresses a pilot would experience in a real battle, fooling every one of the pilots' senses into thinking this was real.

The terrain was mountainous, that is, steep rolling hills the better to camoflage a small Zoid in. Both competitors had taken note of this, picking small, agile craft to flit amongst the trees and large boulders sticking from the mountain terrain. From the get-go, neither pilot could see his opponent, as at least three large, steep hills were blocking the line of sight.

The VR judge crashed to the ground.

"PILOTS! Prepare yourselves for battlemode 0992. Input name, team, and Zoid to initiate this battle!"

Robert Maximus
Always a Merc.
EZ-068 Storch

Dorian Jacobs
Clan of Cerberus
Gun Sniper

The judge calculated for a split-second, and this is what went through its mechanical brain:

P:\\Subroutine "Order" initiated.
You have just entered room "process32026038010841458002."
Chronosboy: Higher roll shall post first.
Chronosboy: Dorian, in his Gun Sniper:
OnlineHost: Chronosboy rolled 2 6-sided dice: 5 3
Chronosboy: Robert, in his Storch:
OnlineHost: Chronosboy rolled 2 6-sided dice: 1 3
Chronosboy: Order determined; Dorian shall post first.
P:\\ Ending subroutine.

The judge boomed out over the virtual battlefield, its projected voice echoing crisply through the mountain air.

"PILOTS! Battlemode 0992 engaged; Pilot Jacobs of the Clan of Cerberus shall initiate. Pilots, at the ready, and..."

"FIGHT!"

Dorian looked around at the mountainous terrain bfore him..."Okay...flying zoid versus land zoid...he's going down big time in an area like this..." he said as he stood on the side of the mountain behind a nearby boulder as he switched into sniping position as he waited patiently..."Let's see what the enemy has prepared for the situation...."

Robert immediately took off and activated the 3-D sensors. This served two purposes: firstly, to locate and gain a lock on the GS; second to get to know the lay of the land. It would only take a second to get to where Robert had determined would be the best spot on the ground to attack from, so he spent a second or two firing the AZ88mm guns at the GS before flying behind some hills out of sight of the GS, using the air brake to control the speed and glided a ways to the spot he had previously determined before landing.

The battle starts out with each competitor on the side of a mountain. Immediately, the Gun Sniper engages longshot mode, its footlocks slamming down into the rock as Dorian flips around in his seat. As all this is happening, Robert takes off, activating the 3D sensory unit on his Storch.

Of course, Robert seems not to notice the fact that his guns don't have line of sight to the Gun Sniper, and its location is just the hologram projected into his cockpit via the 3D sensor. His small burst of bolts hits the terrain, scorching a tree and turning an unfortunate rock into powder.

Also, it's not like Robert specified where he was going to land, either, as all he said was something about having determined a spot. The judge scratches its head for a second before it watches the Storch go sailing around a few hills, still out of sight for the Gun Sniper. And then it lands. End result? Neither pilot has scored even a glancing blow on the other for this round.

Positions:
- Storch and Gun Sniper are around 650 meters apart. Storch is at the Gun Sniper's two o'clock position, whereas the Gun Sniper is at the Storch's three. The Storch is keeping tabs on the Gun Sniper, currently in Longshot mode, with its 3D sensory unit.

Damages:
Neither has even a scratch.

Order is reversed, please continue. If you have any questions, ask them over AIM.

Using the lock he had acquired, Robert released the “Baby bird” missile which, like any good carrier pigeon, flew over the land mass and towards the targeted GS. Like hell, Robert took off again, climbing altitude until he was over the land mass separating him from his opponent. Once over, Robert took a slightly different path then the previous bird did, he came in from the GS’s 3’o’clock with the AZ 80mm’s blazing. Using the Air brake Robert landed 15m’s from the GS and continued firing the 80mm’s, using the Magnesser wings and Tail Stabilizer to achieve slight lift off the ground and stay out of the GS firing range.

Dorian noticed a missile approaching and fired at it in long shot mode, then changing modes again he took off running as AZ 80mm’s rained down, using a footlock to make a sharpturn he ran towards where the fire came from and got a general idea where his target was as he fired 4 missiles into Robert's general position...

Robert looses the bird missile, and off it goes, banking right and heading over the hills and through the woods (to Guardian's Zoid it goes!), while Dorian attempts to shoot the thing down with his longshot cannon. Problem is, it's immensely hard to snipe something that tiny and fast, but more importantly, he's facing the wrong way. Since he went into longshot mode right off the bat without turning around, he's basically in his starting position.

The bird missile smacks his right side with a large, focused blast that does a terrible number on the frail armor of the Gun Sniper. Since it's basically four standard missiles all packed into the blast radius of two meters, the focused blast is enough to remove a huge chunk of the Gun Sniper, tearing its footlocks from the ground as it knocks the raptor Zoid right over and into a tree. The right arm and much of the right hip gets blown straight off, though the internal workings of the hip are still largely intact. The AZ80mm takes a goodly chunk of damage as well, rendering it inoperable.

Of course, as the bird missile was en route, Robert was off and flying, coming in from the Gun Sniper's three. For whatever reason, Robert feels compelled to land and fight, sending down a miniature storm of beam shots as he goes. A few of the semi-auto AZ88mm bolts strike the Sniper's back and leg as it gets up, making a "sharp turn" and basically watching Robert (rather cheekily) land more or less right in front of him. Dorian retaliates with a quartet of dumbfired missiles, all of which smack right into the lightly armored chest and wings of the Storch. Despite the fact that they're only half as powerful as a normal missile, they still pack a respectable blast radius, enough to catch the entire Storch in the blast. Still, they don't prevent Robert from landing, and he does so, just as the round ends.

Positions:
Gun Sniper and Storch are facing each other, practically having a conversation as they're facing one another fifteen meters away. Each is on the ground; neither has any velocity.

Damages:

Storch: Moderate/Moderate armor damage all over its chest, legs, and the underside of each wing.

Gun Sniper: Right arm missing, as well as a large gouge out of its right shoulder area thanks to the focused blast of the bird missile. Damage extends to back and underbelly, almost as if someone took a bite out of the Gun Sniper at the shoulder. The boosters and missile pods have Moderate/Moderate armor damage, and the Gun Sniper also has a decent bit of Moderate/Moderate to the right leg.

Order's reversed, please continue.

Dorian sighed relieved that the blasts didn't end it there and then and managed to get to its feet again...firing the rest of its missiles and turning around back into longshot mode preparing to fire on the now land zoid...firing off a couple of rounds right after the missiles he came out of long shot mode and ran off for cover behind a rock formation to reassess the situation...

The judge scratched its head, and the VR monitors relayed information from Robert's pod. The computer banks saw that, somehow, Robert had developed instantaneous (if fading) narcolepsy and fallen unconscious despite every sensation of actually being inside a Zoid cockpit. A quick-response team was called and the simulation was instantaneously terminated.

The pods flipped open with a hiss, and since Robert never made his move, the winner was announced to the packed hall:

This battle is over! The winner, by his adversary's self-disqualification, is DORIAN JACOBS!

Dorian, please add $500 to your funds. Thanks for playing.