A Whale King powered smoothly though the lake's waters, sliding along with no effort at all. With a small shudder the mouth of it opened up and water rushed into the hangar, filling it up almost instantly. In all this water, a canopy glowed softly. Inside it, the man was making all his final preparations. He looked to be ancient, having long silvery-grey hair that flowed down to his waist. It was seperated into twin ponytails, and on his face he sported a large, flowing moustache that drooped over his lip. Above the moustache was a crooked, hooked nose that had been in one too many fights, and bright steel-blue eyes glittered under bushy white eyebrows. The face was lined and weather-beaten, the frame of the man gaunt, yet solid and unyielding with tough sinew and muscle.

This man was Admiral Orpheus, a leader of a militant seperatist group during the Great War. He was closing in on eighty-three years old, but his mind still operated as keenly as it had all those years ago. now he was retired from the miltary but his excellent piloting skills cause him to be regularly chosen by the ZBC to pilot Zoids in tournaments such as these. To date he'd been the pilot in twenty two such Royales. His specialty was tank Zoids, big command units that oversaw normal battles. He strapped himself into his chair, adjusting it as he deemed necessary, and fired up the Zoid. Lights all around the hangar lit up, revealing the beast in all its majesty. It was an aqua-blue Gojulas, tough and powerful, mean and unforgiving. As the Zoid ran through its starting procedures, Admiral Orpheus checked the Delta System, his wized face glowing faint blue in the lights. According to the diagnostics it was all ready to go.

With a hum of powerful motors, the Gojulas began to stomp towards the exit of the hangar, Orpheus controlling expertly and with a look of grim excitement on his face. The battle lust never really faded, and anyone who believed it did was a fool. There was a slight change in tone of the motors as the Gojulas leapt from the mouth of the Whale King, began to sink, and then halted its descent, hanging in the middle of the lake. Orpheus flashed the 'all-clear' message and the Whale King closed its hangar. There was a pause as powerful pumps emptied the hangar of the clear water, and then the Whale King soared up, breaking the surface and hovering roughly one hundred meters from the lake's surface. It would be ready in case of any emergencies.

As Orpheus ran the Gojulas Mariner through some pre-battle warm-ups a Judge Capsule came hurtling down, plunging into the water, and a big plume of steam began to rise from the superheated metal. The hatch opened to reveal a Judgeman clad in a scuba mask and air tank, bubbles issuing from its mouth region. The number on the capsule read "9888", the Judgeman quite the eccentric. It scanned the area and noted with satisfaction that the multiple Hovercargoes were bringing in the competitors and their Zoids. He issued a statement to each Zoid.

"Once in the water and ready, please transmit pilot data to Judgeman 9888, including name, team, rank, Zoid and modifications being used."

A Warshark slinked into position it's pilot checking the systems one last time as he gazed at the target. It was big. It was mean. And Lance wanted it.
Well seems like a normal day...
The transmission request came in and he sent in his stuff.

=====================================================

Transmitting.....

Data Confirmed.....

Pilot: Lance Asakura
Temporary Zoid Registration Number: 34528-SAJ143-2
Team: Stonecutters
Rank: D
Zoid: Warshark
Zoid Modifications: Narwahl Spear and Leviathen Booster

End Trasmission.

A Crimson Mogla was released from a hovercargo, heading to its position on the surface. Atta was both nervous and excited. He was now in charge of a Mogla, not a Shield Liger. He had foudn it odd that first, thanks to the different body of a zoid (too many legs, and wheels to boot, and no shield) . "Remeber MArk, I will be on the surface to provide support for you, but please no heriocs that will not get you hit by my depth charges."

Mark's rented warshark sank beneath the waves, then surface near Atta's Crimson Mogla.
"Roger, but the Mariner Goujlas will be hard to defeat. And I heard it has Supercannons as well."

"Mark, relax. What will happen what will ahppen. Excuse me."
Atta open up a channel to all zoids challenging the Goujlas Mariner. "GReetings, I am Atta. I would like to suggest some strategy to defeat the MAriner, or that would help. Any burrowers, you might try to burrow into the buttom of the lake. That woudl help you sneak up on the Mariner. As for opening move, those with torpodeos might consider an alpha stirk of at least half your payload on the mariner straight off. Crimson Moglas should be used as depthchargers when possible. A risk strategy if needed would be for the underwater melee zoids to lock the mariner into melee while surface Crimosn moglas depth charges the area and hopefully sinks the goujlas. That of course will also hurt the others as well.
LAst for no, the warsharks migth try to uyse their sonic blasters as an anti-torpedo weapon if possbile. AS for targets on teh Goujlas, I woudl suggest any otrpdeodes, cannons, and maneuvering fins. IF we can cripple its deadly ranged weapons and also cripple its swimming speed, we can pound it fomr safe distance."

That said, Atta cut off his cimmunicaiton.

The ifno was then sent to the judge.

Transmitting.....

Data Confirmed.....

Pilot: Mark Zwei
Team: Team Silverhammer
Rank: E
Zoid: Warshark
Zoid Modifications: none

End Trasmission.

Transmitting.....

Data Confirmed.....

Pilot: Atta Boy
Team: Team Silverhammer
Rank: D
Zoid: Crimson Mogla
Zoid Modifications: none

End Trasmission.

"Rather then getting us killed I'll suggest something more equatable."
Lance said suddenly as he glanced at the target.
"Burrowers would still get picked up by SONAR while attempting to burrow and get Super Cannoned right away so don't attract it. Fire explosive munitions in waves rather then all at once so it's counter-fire can't chain-react all our attacks at once. Any depth charge usage requires us to get out of the way if we expect to take the thing in one piece since the depth charges would kill us long before it kills the Mariner. Coordination is the key as we should attack in small groups to sort of nitpick at it and force it to react to multiple directions to make it sluggish in reaction. Let us assume there are boobytraps among other things so be weary. And if you go in melee make sure you have someone attacking at a different angle at the same time so the Gojulas won't completely ruin a melee attack. Sonic Cannons should be used to suppress the Gojulas' munitions and on a latter note make a thorough attempt to rupture regions for the rest of our fire. Keeping attacks in general regions rather then specific parts or joints will wholly boost our accuracy and fire coordination. Cautiousness is key it's bigger and it's meaner but we have numbers and more strategies open to us. My first tactical suggest as we cripple it's manuevering so we can gain a clear melee and targeting advantage."
He let his comms remain on as he continued to assess.
Hmmmmm....

A female voice, a dead ringer for a pirate wench, cut through the airwaves. "Arr, you two preachers be through with yer sermons yet?"

Bobbing along at ten knots on the top of the water, like an ungainly jellyfish, was the bulbous hull of a Malder. Not really meant for surface warfare, the snail-type excelled at amphibious assaults and stationary artillery duty. Overhead cruised an uncommon Zoid, an Imperial Sinker. The ray-types were fairly rare these days, and somehow this pilot had managed to acquire one and modify it with two small rocket launchers on its upper half, and a small radome below.

A flat male voice was next. "We're Team Sirocco. And I don't think you'll have to worry much about that Supercannon fire - I have a feeling I'll be absorbing most of it."

"Arr, call me Ivy," said the girl. "And that be Cap'n Alex." She switched instantly to a regular voice. "We'll be providing your fire-support, moving targets, and general stupid antics today. Well, I know I will. Alex is more of a stationary target," she grinned.

In his cockpit, Alex briefly thumbed the intercom, then thought better of it and switched it back off. His Malder drifted to a halt, before he filled the onboard ballast tanks and began to sink to the bottom.

"Oh, and, Blackbeard," Ivy said, referring to the Crimson Molga, "it's pronounced Mol-ga. I helped design that thing, so I know what those depth charges can do. Watch out that you don't accidentally wreck us when dropping them. Or at least give us some warning - they're more than powerful enough to blow that lizard to scrap. Keep in mind that those supercannons have a reload time of twelve seconds, too."

Alexander Carrigan
Team: Team Sirocco
Rank: E
Zoid: EMZ-18 Malder
Modifications: None

Bronwyn Ivesdon
Team: Team Sirocco
Rank: E
Zoid: EZ-032 Sinker
Modifications: VM-32 RADOME, SS-05 Safecracker Javelins.

Ivy's voice came over a private channel. "Think these jokers are going to get us killed?"

Alex considered for a beat, engaging the reverse-magnesser drive as his Malder landed on the seafloor. "Probably."

"Just checking."

Another crimson molga is transported into the water, with it's jolly roger flying high on the aft of the zoid. Through the radio came another "Yar." Then in a quiet voice, "count one more pirate ship to our ranks. Team FIAB is here."

The Molga cruises next to Atta and radios solely to him, "Aye matey lets show these land lubbers how to fight on the water."

Then Rinorgon transmits to the judge

Rinorgon Negroni
Team: Fish in a Barrel
Rank: E
Zoid: Crimson Mogla
Zoid Modifications: none

Atta radioes back to the other Crimson Molga.
"Atta, here, I mean, Pirate Atta here. IYes, let us show these landlubbers how to fight."

{{Talk done. Review strategies suggested. Respond to suggestions}}
Finished with the call to the other Crimson molga, radioed the other fighters against the Gojulas Mariner.
"Multiple angle melee sounds good. Should the Crimson Molgas attempt to herd the Goujlas with some depth charges, or should the Moglas be held in reserve to come in and Depth charge the Goujlas once its manueverability is hindered? "

Mark submerged his warshark to 10 meters, and waits, wondering when the fight will begin. He was not so sure if they had a decent plan, but Mark was willing to go straight at the Goujlas.

Ivy crunched up her eyes and groaned. Another nutcase with depth charges. Well, something had to be done.

"You guys have more than depth charges," she radioed. "Bring up the torpedoes on your viewscreens - they're not as powerful, but they're designed exclusively for naval use. That means they're both nasty and accurate."

She took a breath. "Those torps can nail something as small as a stabilizer cap - friend of mine developed their AI. Think about what the two of you can do with eight of them between you. Supercannon bracings, torpedo pods...this thing's got more than a few weak spots," she finished, closing the comm.

"Oops, seems I've left my comm open," Ivy said to herself, smiling nefariously. She wasn't just broadcasting to her teammates; the open channel went to the guy in that Gojulas monster's cockpit too. Ivy figured it wouldn't hurt to try and off-handedly psych the guy out before the fight - all in good fun, of course.

Rinorgon in an annoyed tone, "Yar everyones a critic aren't they. I do not remeber saying I be bombarding this this scallewag with depth charges."

Then Rinorgon closed his current comm channel and radioded his partner nearby on the gustav, "Helseeker could you look weaknesses on a Gojulas... exposed hydrallics and other parts on the zoid, interesting."

Radioing Atta agian Rinorgon says, "Matey as far as I can tell that beast got several parts not covered in armor just ripe for torpedoing."

"Nothing to worry about folks! The Storm Riders are here!!!!" Ryu says in a loud cocky voice.

Vincent asks in a calm voice, "Does anyone have a plan of attack? I'm pretty sure a little team work wouldn't hurt us either...."

Kesshi sits quietly thinking about some kind of strategy.

The three pilots send their information to the judge.

Name: Kesshi Kuruado
Zoid: Maccurtis
Mod: Sonic Cannon
Rank: E

Name: Vincent
Zoid: Warshark
Mod: None
Rank: E

Name: Ryu Cloud
Zoid: Heldigunner
Mod: Sonic Cannon
Rank: E

The air was filled with static, and not just tension either, but the meaningless babel of voices as well. They might as well have been the buzzing of flies to G1954. Thundering through the foliage with an aura that betrayed it's small size, the Godos instantly made for the waters of the lake; it's new battlefield, it's new bloodening ground.

As soon as both feet were in the water, a new sensation washed over the diminuitive zoid in torrents; the Godos was experiencing bliss for the first time. It was as if this entire accursed terrain was working against him! Fighting off the pleasurable feelings that threatened to dull his instincts, the zoid broadcasted it's data and doubled it's resolve to smite what happless opponent that might get in his way.

Godos #1954
Pilot: Mellisa Harding
Modifications: Twin DV-014B Carbide Ripper and DV-14U Mini-Mariner Unit
Rank E

Admiral Orpheus noted on the sonar that all ten were ready and willing, so he transmitted his data to the Judgeman, who processed it and cross-referenced against all existing records. When he'd validated everything he held up a paddle.

"Welcome to the ZBC-AIZDAT Mariner Royale! Pilots, your data has been registered! Battlemode is 0980. Ready... FIGHT!" commanded the Judgeman as he dropped his paddle. The game was on.

((Guys, doesn't matter what order you go in, just post your moves. Orpheus and the Gojulas always go last, and the judgment is rolled into that move. Have fun!))

*No hessitation, no second thoughts. G1954 charges deeper into the surf, diving towards his opponent as fast and as deep as his parameters will allow. The transition into a swimming orientation allows the double-barreled anti-aircraft laser machineguns to become the perfect tools for a forward assault, and the Godos readily uses them to fire a constant stream of laser energy into the waiting Gojulas. Given the scale of his opponent, even G1954 knows the attack is little more than a formality, but while the physical damage is laughable at best, it sends a message to his foe, loud and clear: G1954 was not here to fool around.

Some heavy restraint is needed to lock the pursuit torpedos without actually firing them, but the Godos perseveres as he continues to swim towards his opponent at full throttle. While size might have been a liability in physical combat, things were completely different in a match beneath the waves. Although G1954 maintains a direct course as much as possible, the zoid readily exploits it's small target zone and increased maneuverability to skirt the heaviest of the Mariner's assaults, both range and melee, only to come back at it from a blind spot and harry it again.*

{{Fire at Goujlas. Distract. Move.}}
"Firing one torpedo"
*Atta locked used his sonar to locate the Goujlas, then launched a single torpedo at it, then turned 45 degrees away from the goujlas, and went to full, slowing and turning when it is behind the Goujlas. When the goujlas heads towards ATta, three depth charges are in an attempt to hit the Goujlas, as well to cover Ata's escape from the area at full speed.*

"Mark, heading in.*
*Mark grinned. Time to go in. He was nervous, yes, but also excited. He realized hte value of the plan. From his depth of 50 meters, he luanches 4 of his missiles at the goujlas, before divign down to 250 meters. Mark heads towards the Golujas at 50 knots, his weapons alernating fire. First the beam cannons fire, then the sonic blaster. His approach is random, although still headed towards the Gojulas. The beam cannon;s main goal are the supercannons, although general damage would do as well. THe sonic blaster is fired as a deternent to incomign torpedoes, and once close, will be used in an attempt to disable the torpedo pods.*

*Rinorgon takes a position behind and above the gordos approaching the gojulas into torpedoing range. Then Rinorgon, taking the time to lock on to any exposed hydrolics in its armor, fires twin torpedos at it. Then he also going to to around the opposite side of the gotulas that Atta did and keep far away from the depth charges.

Ivy couldn't resist a bit of national pride. "All right, folks, let's show this Rep he's got no business being in the water!"

"You didn't see the Godos that just barreled in here, did you, Ive?" came Alex's voice over the intercom.

Ivy pondered for a beat, slamming both stick and throttle forward. With a roar of plasma exhaust, the Sinker took off and plowed into the waves. "Nah - it's part diVossi. Helic hasn't got tech beyond the Hamsterball Age."

As the Sinker closed on the monstrous Gojulas, Ivy glanced at the Godos pirouetting through the water off to her starboard. Those new modular units really did the trick, she observed. And that Godos pilot would be pleasantly surprised when he or she unleashed those torpedoes.

Speaking of which. Ivy grinned as she thumbed the stick's cap open, revealing a few buttons. She squeezed the trigger on the front as her thumb pressed a small red one.

Off her bow, a short burst of fire from her beam repeaters accompanied a pair of Safecracker rocket-propelled javelins lancing towards the Gojulas' left torpedo pod. She glanced down and saw Alex's Malder, anchored to the seafloor, open up on the same one with a constant stream of laserfire. "Hahaaa, get him, Alex!"

Alex, meanwhile, was watching the old-style monitors in front of him like a hawk. The laser multisensors were feeding him information about the situation: the terrain mapped onto the largest monitor before him, with the Gojulas and his teammates superimposed on it. Even the depth charges...

...holy frell, depth charges?! Lordy, that was Ivy out there. He immediately flipped the comm.

"Ivy, that Molga's dropping depth charges. Just letting you know."

"Thanks," radioed Ivy. Alex saw her Sinker take evasive action, diving deeper and skimming the seabed, after releasing another pair of Safecrackers towards the same port-side torpedo pod. He could only presume she was still locking her torpedoes.

Alex kept himself braced for the Supercannon fire. He was prepared to see what this thing had to toss at him before he played his own hand.

Come on...let's see what you've got behind the ugly.

Kesshi and the Maccurtis already on the lake floor burrows at full speed into it and head toward the gojulas's position after reaching a depth of 30 meters.

Ryu and the Heldigunner as well as Vincent and the Warshark who are 50 meters apart both dive full speed and burrow into the lake floor and after reaching the depth of 30 meters heads for the Gojulas.

All three zoids, once they've burrowed and reached 30 meters they'll make their way towards the Gojulas each going 70kmph burrowing.

"Res ipsa loquitur."

Lance spoke the words softly as he watched the burrowers already make themselves a target. They were targets for the Gojulas so it would seem. The meat of the bait for the beast. Let God have witness that Lance wouldn't make a foolish move in the midst of this beast. The Warshark sped forward beam cannons firing as Lance took to getting in a depth above the Gojulas' forward-facing arsenals for the moment. Two Torpedos deployed their angle of fire would slam into the less-protected back and hopefully jam the Supercannon ammunition loading mechanisms.

The Sonic Cannon fired a wave of fire after the torpedos from his allies had either hit or been destroyed to avoid interfering with allied fire this time aiming for the base of the Gojulas closer to the tail region. Taking care to avoid allied fire and depth charges the Warshark skirted along at flank speed and settled itself for a rearward attack. Two more torpedos deployed going for a previously damaged region to help expose it for allied fire or at least pursue in the Warshark's previous goals of hampering the beast's fire or movement. Evasive was taken at a smooth over hasty pace during the manuevers only using the least amount of energy required.

Admiral Orpheus smirked as the battle begun, twisting the body of his Gojulas to fire a single Supercannon shell at one of the Zoids burrowing into the ground, taking advantage of the small stationary period. The shell roared as it ripped through the water and connected with the back half of a Warshark as it was slipping under the dirt. Though Admiral Orpheus couldn't see for all the silt, he smiled as a CSF notification blinked on one of ten screens in his cockpit. He was monitoring all the Zoids and their pilots, looking for opportunities.

Meanwhile, a multitude of things took place, not least of which was several torpedos achieving locks. While the torps were locking, the determined Godos continued to swim towards the Gojulas, making some nice headway while the lasers fired out at the Gojulas. They began to eat into the armour on the left side, but then the Gojulas turned, having picked up the attacker on the sonar. In the cockpit, Admiral Orpheus swept his controls up, tagging the Godos with a pair of torpedo locks while he aimed for his real target. There was a slight pause and then a bang as the second Supercannon fired. The shell swept by the Godos, causing it to spin a little, and then a resounding bang echoed through the water as the Corsair Molga following the Godos wass blown from the surface of the water into the air. It slammed back into the water a little, sinking a few meters before righting itself. Rinorgon hurriedly checked his monitors, seeing that the rear half of the Molga was quite badly damaged, and it had sprung multiple leaks.

Satisfied with the result, Admiral Orpheus smirked and fired his torpedos. Just as they fired, a single torpedo slammed into the back of the Gojulas, doing some damage to the Supercannon mount, courtesy of the second Corsair Molga, Atta. The Gojulas' torpedos streaked towards the Godos at an incredibly fast rate, one of them slamming into the Godos and exploding, while the second streaked past and lost its lock, continuing until it struck the coast. The Godos automatically ran its damage diagnostics, noticing heavy damage to the chest. Still, by the end of the round, the Godos has travelled about a hundred meters, making some good headway.

While all this was happening, Mark tried to get used to his Warshark and fired four of his missiles, but doesn't bother to lock them first. Luckily, the Gojulas isn't moving very much, so three hit along the right side, doing some medium damage to the right hip, breaking away armour and the like. Mark then made a fatal mistake and very much overestimated the depth of the lake, plowing into the lakefloor headfirst. He plunged in, throwing silt everywhere, and kind of ended up stuck. Inside the Gojulas, Admiral Orpheus noticed this and grinned evilly. He swung to face the spot and fired four torpedoes at the Warshark, while the AMD Beam Guns and the Machineguns fired away at the Warshark of Lance Askura, Admiral Orpheus spitting in disgust as that Warshark fired two torpedos into the Supercannon arrangement, followed by a tight sonic wave, which wreaked havoc on the Supercannons. Orpheus pursed his lips and then decided to turn, locking his torpedoes onto the Warshark.

Yet more action was taking place during all of this, as the Sinker slammed through the waves and into the briney blue, letting a Safecracker pair rocket towards the left torpedo pod. They buried themselves and exploded around the pod, not quite disabling it but doing a massive amount of damage to the surrounding armour. She then dove down as depth charges sunk into the water, quite a distance from the Gojulas. They sunk down at a slower rate than her, but all exploded as they hit the ground, sending a rocketing wave of tidal force through the water. This wave caught the fleeing Sinker, spinning it end over end, leaving Ivy very dizzy by the end of the round, not to mention that she's lodged in the silty muck, face-first. The depthcharges had a second effect, blowing a huge plume of silt up into the water, thirty meters high, and that's a lot of silt. The explosios shook the earth, and the burrowers felt it, moving up slightly. They were very surprised to emerge from the earth twenty meters earlier than expected.

The entire round, the Malder was left alone to spray fire, happily eating into various places on the Gojulas' armour as it turned and twisted. by the end of the round, Alex had just generally screwed over little spots of armour here and there. Admiral Orpheus frowned as he realized the next wave of attack was about to come, and it would probably only get worse.

[CODE]“Darn it.”
Mark pounded on the counsel, wondering how he could have made a mistake. He realized he confused the radius of the lake with the depth. It was only 75 meters, not 250. He should not have just glanced at the info, but should have really taken note. Due to his rush, he had made a rookie mistake, CSFed himself, adn might even have cost the match against the Gojulas. He pounded on the control again in anger at himself for once again making a stupid mistake.

{partner down. attmept alpha strike}
Atta slowed, and turned back towards the Gojulas, locking then firing all three remaining torpedoes. Using hte sonar, Atta attmepted to determine the depth of the Gojulas. He also sent out a warning to the other pilots, exluding the Gojulas pilot.
"Warning, attempting depth charge run. Clear the area."

That said, Atta speed towards the Gojulas, the Depth charges set to the depth of the Gojulas (otherwise 50 meters). All 9 remaining depth charges were ejected.
{Calculations indicate that should do it}. Some worry was there, since Atta was now defenseless.

Atta slowed down, and began an random evasions in chase of any incoming fire. He hoped that he had gotten the Goujlas, but if not, then he calculated he was scrap metal.

Ivy reeled in her cockpit, slipping in and out of the native Guylos accent she usually supressed.

"Eh heh heh....anyone get the number o' that Hovercargo?"

Alex's voice came over the intercom. "Ivy, are you all right?"

"Ee hee - that Molga's got some right cobbler's awls dropping 'is depth charges like that...did I gets a piece of that 'Ampton Wick in the lizard...?"

Alex furrowed his brow. He was, of course, worried about his friend, but he couldn't directly help her at the moment. While simultaneously keying up the mortar cannon and holding down the trigger on the Gojulas' left mortar pod, Alex flicked the comm to the Molga that had dropped depth charges. The barest trace of anger crept into his voice as he transmitted.

"Knock. It. Off."

Alex closed the comm; it was time to play his hand. He'd been waiting for those Supercannons to fire, though he assumed the volleys would head his way. While he kept the lasers eating away at that torpedo pod, the mortar cannon on the top of the shell flipped open.

Showtime.

Meanwhile, Ivy was attempting to focus. Phew, that was a right nasty spin; but bizarrely enough, she was more thrilled with her handiwork on those depth charges than mad at the chump dropping them prematurely.

Okay, first things first, shut off the main engines. Shift the prop into reverse and pulse the antigrav to get the bow out of the - there! That hopefully did it.

She pushed the throttle, shifting all engines into forward. Ivy also took the liberty of activating all of her sensors, watching the radome's feed enhance the sonar readings on her HHUD. Her Sinker briefly shook itself off as it accelerated away from the Gojulas, avoiding seafloor, and teammates alike. Ivy suddenly cut the throttle and used a small pulse from the starboard engine to spin the Sinker around to fire the torpedoes she'd been locking - effectively doing a 360 while maintaining a vector away from the Gojulas. The torps streaked towards the damaged right hip. Once her bow lined up with her vector, she evened out and pulled up to shoot out of the water and lose any torpedoes that may be in pursuit.

As Ivy got her Sinker moving again, Alex had pressed a small black button on an auxiliary control pad. A small black button he was quite fond of. The Malder's computers had instantly calculated the appropriate muzzle velocity to place a terrain-busting Blockbuster mortar directly on the left torpedo pod - or anywhere on that latitude, depending on where the Gojulas had turned. He firmly closed the shell afterward.

Still keeping the lasers focused on the damaged pod, Alex braced himself for whatever this beast was going to throw at him - especially now that he'd pissed it off.

All right, folks, I've dropped this lizard right in your lap - now kill the damn thing, he thought.

*Several other zoids defeated, several less obstacles to worry about. The battle had yet to reach fever pitch, but the life-giving chaos was already there and it was time for G1954 to make full use of that anarchy to put the rest of its plan into motion.

Ignoring the flesh wounds he sustains, the Godos powers forward, coming even closer to the Gojulas, hating itself for actually trusting the other fighters not to tag it with so-called, 'friendly fire'. Another swift turn is used to escape the Gojulas' line of fire, but this time, the Godos continues on it's new course, coming around to the side and above the Gojulas.

Strategically speaking, the Mariner had a special weakness derived from it's land-based forebearers. On either side on the back of the Gojulas' neck were a set of thick, armored hoses, used to maintain climate control and life support for the pilot. Against a normal Gojulas, they did little more than ruin the pilot's day, but in the Mariner's case, it also regulated cockpit pressure and oxygen. While not lethal, severing these tubs would certainly limit the enemy's options in the water. The Mariner 17's hoses were located beneath plates of armor, but the targets would still be accessable to the particularly stubborn and as far as zoids went, few were more stubborn than G1954.

Hovering in the water some distance above the base of his target's neck, G1954 releases both torpedos to do their work, before sinking deeper to finish the job with it's bare hands or, in this case, Carbide Rippers. Swimming down to the Mariner, G1954's magnetic clamps fasten the Godos to the Mariner's back, safely between and out of the way of both Super Cannons. Hacking downwards, the Carbide Rippers proceed to tear through the remaining armor in order to get at the hoses. Through the use of it's saws, G1954 is careful to pull out often enough to keep his melee weapons from jamming into the enemy zoid's body.

All that remains now is the patience and peace to see its work through. Unfortunately, G1954 doesn't trust the other zoids as far as he can throw them to leave him alone. The anti-aircraft machineguns continue to fire at any explosive projectiles that might otherwise get in the Godos' way as well as deter rivals from firing at G1954's location.*

Kesshi-

"Damn"

The maccurtis immediately turns around and hauls ass in the opposite direction away from the depth charges. Remaining buried the zoid travels at its full speed AWAY from the depth charges.

Ryu-

"Is he crazy!?!?!"

The heldigunner turns around and travels away from the depth charges. The zoid remains burrowed as it travels at FULL SPEED away from the depth charges.

"Fire in waves for the torps and missiles people we won't get anything done firing everything at once for the Gojulas to more easily dodge."
The Warshark had taken some hits but Lance had achieved the angle he wanted. Behind and slightly below the Gojulas where he could see the tell-tale signs of engines but more importantly the Rudder. He saw the Godos making it's melee run and nodded to himself. Yes he saw what was in mind.
"Ok then people keep the Gojulas distracted so the Godos can get in if he severs any tubes it may force the Gojulas to run on the surface giving us more breathing room!"
The Beam Cannons fired in an oscillated pattern as he gunned straight for the rudder. The Warshark fired missiles two pairs sending them in a 1-2 pattern rather then all at once to give each explosion enough time to make serious havoc. The Sonic Cannon Fired again at the Tail taking care not to interfere with his allies as he fired a more narrow blast for focused devestation. With luck it would also throw the engines out of whack. The Leviathen Boosters ignited and propelled the Warshark forward to greater speeds the Narwhal Spear gleaming wickedly as the Warshark went in for a Ram to slam and puncture the stomache. Beam Cannons fired as the Warshark pulled out quickly to let water flow into the gap. The Sonic Cannon fired again to widen the hole and maybe soak internals.

"Holy crap! That thing packs a punch"

Rinorgon decided to abandon his fualty metal shield then took a hard turn and revolving around the right side of the Gojulas as fast as his damaged molga can go. Menewhile He attempts to lock on to the leg that seems to already have been shot at. Once the lock is gotten Rinorgon faces the Gojulas for a moment luanchs all of his torpedos, then u-turns and flees from the crazy zoid dropping depth charges.

Admiral Orpheus pursed his lips and immediately motored towards the only untouched threat at this point in time, the Malder, simulatenously firing the torpedoes he'd locked against Lance's Warshark. They hit home, hard and the shark was left reeling with very heavy damage. One of the Supercannons roared, and the Corsair Molga that had previously been blasted was struck again. This time, when it bobbed back up, it didn't right itself. Rinorgon was out for the count.

As the Gojulas motored towards the Malder, a variety of things happened. Ivy began her efforts to get out of the mud and within a few seconds actually did pull out of it. Kesshi and Ryu dived into the ground and ran away, getting about ninety meters further away by the end of the round. Woots for them >_>

Anyway, Atta begins to lock his torpedoes as Orpheus powers towards the Malder. He tilts slighly, allowing his rear-facing beam guns to pelt the closing Warshark with firepower. The torpedo tubes are achieving their locks on the Malder, slowly but surely. The guns don't do all that much damage, but the Warshark's already pretty heftily damaged. After a few seconds of concentrated fire the Warshark began to sink, the bright letters C.S.F flashing across the screen, but it managed to fire a pair of torpedos just before it went down. These two torpedos struck at about the same time Atta's remaining three hit, all in the same area, ruinging the rudder. Orpheus felt the controls become much more choppy, but steadied himself and grit his teeth, carefully focusing his attention on controlling the Gojulas. His beam guns were spraying fire behind him, a few glancing across the Sinker's surface for overall light damage across the top, but nothing too severe. Twin torpedoes strak out, slamming into the side of the Malder and ruining its laser machineguns, but doing little damage to the actual armour.

Alex clicked open his shell, the mortar unit coming up to fire. This was what Orpheus had been waiting for, and his second Supercannon drew a target. He was about to fire... and then G1954 got in position to fire his torpedoes. They streaked down and slammed into the base of the Gojulas' neck, ripping apart the armour there. Simultaneously, two guns roared, the Gojulas' Supercannon bucking it slightly in the water as the Blockbuster hit home, and how.

The Blockbuster Mortar ripped in and then a pillar of flame erupted through the water, ripping away the left torpedo tube and actually removing the arm on that side of the Gojulas. The loss of an engine along with the rudder caused Orpehus to lurch crazily, the Gojulas swinging and dipping. However, sitting on his back, quite unaffected by all the momentum, safe with his magnetic clamps, was a very stubborn and persistent Godos. It was sawing away at the badly damaged armour, pulling it away with some effort and digging deeper until it found what it had wanted. The climate control tubes. If a Godos could cackle gleefully, this one would have started doing that right about now, as it severed the right tube and huge waves of bubbles burst forth, swamping the immediate vicinity.

Orpheus was closing in on the Malder, around ninety meters away, when it happened. There was a pop and then his ears depressurized, becoming exceedingly painful. The air became thin and Admiral Orpheus became aware of water leaking through several grills in the cockpit. He swore softly and continued on his course towards the Malder, which itself wasn't in great shape, the Supercannon having not hit inside the shell, but just in front, exploding and wreaking havoc on the insides. The soft insides of the Malder were pretty trashed, to about moderate to heavy damage.

As Atta sped towards the Gojulas, travelling about two hundred meters by the time the round finished, closing the gap to a hundred meters, Ivy raced away from the Gojulas, spinning and firing all her torpedoes at the damaged right hip. They struck the lurching Gojulas with intense force, blowing away the armour and almost completey removing the leg. The engine mounted at the base of the tail died, several important conduits having been severed in the explosion. The Gojulas slowed to a crawl, now wavering and swinging like a drunkard. Still, even with water sloshing around his ankles, Orpheus stared grimly at the Malder, gunning the Mariner as best he could.

Score Updates (forgot to do this last time, sorry):

Vincent: +1 Loss (Heavy Repairs)
Mark Zwei: +1 Loss (Heavy Repairs)
Rinorgon: +1 Loss (Overhaul)
Lance Asakura: +1 Loss (Heavy Repairs)

((Ignore this one >_>; the board felt like posting for me when I wasn't ready.))

Alex glared right back at the oncoming Gojulas, even as he focused through the pain washing over his right temple.

That's it...just keep focused on me. Ignore the ones that are actually killing you.

He was busy going into pure defense-mode, the forward hatch on his shell closing tightly enough that the Gojulas couldn't get its ham-fisted claws around it to pry it open. The snail's head, in addition, retracted back into its shell to prepare for this next maneuver.

Alex looked at the looming Gojulas on the sonar readings. It was clearly powering in for melee, which meant it was focused on him. Good. He brought the throttle forward and his Malder's powerful reverse-magnesser drive accelerated smoothly towards its top underwater speed.

As he braced for impact, Ivy's voice came over the comm.

"All right, Al - let's blow this thing and go home!"

Her Sinker zoomed in and ran parallel to the Gojulas, before pulling a similar move as last turn - spinning ninety degrees while still maintaining the same vector - and launching two Safecrackers directly into the bare, exposed internals of the Gojulas' right leg and side. She quickly resumed her initial vector and cranked the stick back, sending her craft racing straight up and out of the water, ahead of the fireball she'd hopefully created.

And, y'know, avoiding any depth charges or Crimson Molgas or any of that nonsense that might be in her path.

Before she fired the javelins, Alex quickly checked the sonar readings.

That was interesting. He quickly disabled the reverse magnesser and activated the pumps to blast all water out of the ballast tanks. As his Malder headed for the surface, the life-support system kept pressure and air composition equal. He took the time to ponder for a second.

"Let's blow this thing and go home?" Who the heck says that?

Now, assuming those Safecrackers were enough to take out the Gojulas, Ivy had another plan. She pulled a lazy Immelman and came in on the Crimson Molga's six.

"Depth Charges, meet Safecrackers. Safecrackers, meet depth charges."

Ivy let loose with her last set of Safecrackers from above, along with a nice burst of beam fire raking across the Molga's surface as she made her strafing run. She pulled up enough that the deck cannon couldn't hit her as she began to loop around for another pass.

Atta continued his rush, calculating his move. He was out of torpedoes, had nine depth charges left, and the deck cannon, although the last was useless for hitting the underwater Gojulas. Atta used sonar to determien depth of the Gojulas, setting the depth charges to explode that depth.
{{almost in position. Readying depth charges}}
As he reached the area, Atta jettisioned 6 dpeth charges, dropping them when he was above the Gojulas, then slowign down to 60 knots, turning away and speeding up to put some distance away. The Deck cannon is readied in case he needs to fire it anyone, altohugh Atta doubted he would need to.

Ryu-

"Let's Attack"

The Maccurtis makes its way for the surface at top speed with the Heldigunner right behind it slightly slower. As the Maccurtis emerges its Multi-Antennae already begin to pin point the Gojulas's position. The Heldigunner uses its radar as well, as they both head for the huge gojulas at 20kmph. The Heldigunner swimming along the bed fires its Long Range Assault Beam Cannon and its Sonic Cannon at the Gojulas's exposed neck. The Maccurtis moves along about 12 meters below the heldigunner and fires its Sonic Cannon right after the Heldigunner fires its Sonic Cannon aimed at the Gojulas's neck. Both zoids continue traveling 20kmph firing off all the weapons mentioned (Long Rang Assault Beam Cannon, Sonic Cannon) aimed at the Gojulas's neck.

*There is no doubt over his enemy's suffering, but that itself comes as no satisfaction to G1954. The Godos draws its fullfilment from the brutal defeat of its opponents, not their prolongued agony. That thought alone drives the Godos to pursue the one available option: CSF the Gojulas, do it quickly and do it efficiently.

Maintaining his magnetic hold over the target, the G1954 continues to hack and tear within reason, rending the remaining tube before pressing into the Mariner's structure. Simply not satisfied with mere close-range carnage, the Godos continues to fire it's anti-aircraft cannons to destroy incoming explosives and ward off unwanted allies foolish enough to wander into his line of fire.

No quarter given and none is asked for as the smaller zoid pressess his deadly attack. G1954 doesn't care if it takes a fully on decapitation, he has the time to wait the process out.*

Alex pulled into his shell, hastily defending himself as the Gojulas tore towards him. As it travelled along, the Godos busily sawed away at the neck of the Gojulas with grim determination, cutting through the second tube.

Noticing the second severed tube, Admiral Orpheus had no choiuce but to surface. He surged towards the surface as the Heldigunner and Maccurtis popped up from the ground a good fourhundred meters away and began to take aim. Atta was charging in and was almost ready to drop depth charges. Ivy zoomed by and did a nifty spin on her axis, firing her rockets and fleeing. At this point, Alex noticed something on his sonar, Lance's warning of boobytraps echoing in his mind. With this idea, he decided it would be a good time to surface.

Suddently a lot of things happened at once. The Safecracker Javelins bit into the damaged right leg of the Gojulas, exploding with mighty fury. At the same moment, the Heldigunner and Warshark fired from far away, scarring the left-side internals in a nasty way. G1954 began to slice into the Control Conduit. Atta, now right above the Gojulas, released the depthcharges. The right leg exploded forcefully, tearing itself off at almost the same moment the psychotic Godos sliced clean through the Control Conduit.

A split second passed as the Gojulas registered its fallen state, the Judge smiled psychotically and... the aquatic mines activated. Buried under the lakefloor, the mines had been set to detonate upon the Gojulas' CSF. They were everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Silt was blasted up to the surface as a hundred mines exploded simultaneously, engulfing the bottom thirty meters of the lake in flames and a rumbling tidal wave that surged upwards. Ryu and Kesshi were caught in the chaotic mess, thrown about and tumbling terribly. The Maccurtis was CSF'd outright, while the Heldigunner managed to survive with heavy structural damage, a whole shitload of missing armour and no more Aquatic Cluster Cannon.

Meanwhile, Ivy sped towards the surface, managing to outrun the explosion by a bare second. Interestingly enough, her path through the water was followed by a trail of flame, and when she burst through the surface of the lake, the fire belched out around her, engulfing her in the death-throes of the Gojulas. It all looked rather sci-fi actually, like a rather large battlestation being blown up from the inside. The sinker was carbon-coated and blackened, but relatively unharmed. Alex bobbed happily on the surface, still hiding in his shell, while Atta circled menacingly. G1954 wasn't so lucky.

The Gojulas was snagged in the blast and tossed like a rag doll, G1954 being taken along for the ride. Melissa had the misfortune of slamming her head on the control board and was knocked unconscious, but G1954 cared not. He was being battered by the choppy water, and what was worse, the depth charges were still coming down. They reached the preset depth and exploded forcefully. This blast counteracted that of the sea mines, putting the Gojulas in a vice grip between connflicting waves of water, and it jetted haplessly along the border, G1954 getting CSFd by the immense structural beating he took in the havoc. The Gojulas sunk, settling gently in the murky water.

On top of the water, Ivy circled around, taking aim at Atta, who was simply milling about. Her final pair of Safecrackers locked, and there was a flash of flame as they launched. They struck true, embedding themselves into the depthcharge, actually punching through it and into the armour behind before exploding. The result was a massive fireball that stripped away all the armour and a good seventy or so percent of the internals on the back half of the Molga. Atta fainted instantly from the numbing pain, going into what was basically a comatose state of pain and agony. She flew over him with a war whoop, turning back to face Alex.

Score Updates:

Ryu: +1 Loss (Heavy Repairs)

G1954: +1 Victory, +1 Loss (Moderate Repairs, Melissa's going to need a day or so in hospital due to concussion and some scans are required)

Atta Boy: +1 Victory (he CSFd G1954), +1 Loss (Overhaul, Atta himself is feeling rather traumatized. Being sentient and able to feel your back erupting into flames and shrapnel is sure to affect a guy. As of yet, who knows what he's going to be like when he wakes up?)

Ivy: +1 Victory (Safecracker Javelins and Torpedos expended)

"Ivy, that Godos got hit bad. Can you handle the Heldigunner?"

Ivy's Sinker decelerated and plunged back into the water, coming around to get the iguana Zoid's side in her targeting reticule. "Righto, boss. Going to play hero?"

Alex raised an eyebrow in annoyance as his ballast tanks began to fill again. His frame was going up in washes of pain thanks to the violent motion of bobbing to the surface so quickly, but it wasn't anything he hadn't handled before. And by the Godos' lack of response, the pilot may have been in real danger.

"It's not 'playing hero,' Bronwyn," he added with a trace of savagery, "it's common courtesy."

In her cockpit, Ivy shrugged off Alex's irritated tone. She knew his joints would be killing him from the shock of the Supercannons slamming into his shell, coupled with the constant diving and surfacing. The last thing he needed was an ornery teammate.

Besides, she had bigger fish - or reptiles - to fry. Literally.

As Alex's craft submerged, Ivy finished her loop around and came at the Heldigunner from the side, her energy repeaters chewing into the exposed structure of the machine's flank. Her prime concern was that sonic cannon mounted in the iguana-type's mouth - one good shot from that thing could ruin her day. Naturally, she kept banking and turning with the Zoid to ensure she came at it from the side, keeping her vector perpendicular to his.

And she didn't pull off as she reached it. Aiming to pass above the Gunner's dorsal surface (away from the claws), she gunned the engine as she neared it. Her manta ray's engines roared to life and rocketed her straight up to 120 knots as she passed overhead, pulling a great wash of turbulence and hydrostatic energy in her wake to slam into the Gunner and hopefully spin it wildly around.

Meanwhile, Alex was making best speed for the downed Gojulas. His snail Zoid landed near the downed Gojulas and engaged its powerful reverse magnesser, gently attempting to wedge the monster free from the silt. His plan was to gently shove the Gojulas/Godos pile up the lake bed, using the forward pop-out section to "trap" the downed machine on the forward part so his slow but steady Malder could use its shunt force to carry the Mariner -and its smaller cousin- up and out of the lake. Winning the battle, of course, was nice and all, but those Zoids may have been developing serious, life-threatening cockpit issues.

On his scanners, he could see Ivy continually harrying the Heldigunner, blasting it with pressure waves from the side, much like a Raynos might do with Mach shockwaves in the air, all while keeping her beam fire chewing into the beast's side.

"Pilots of the Godos and Gojulas, please sit tight - I'll try and wedge you out of here."

The Heldigunner turns and heads toward the two zoids near the surface. The Heldigunner takes aim at the Sinker and begins to fire its AZ20mm Beam Cannons and its Sonic Cannon. As they near each other the the Heldigunner continues to fire the two cannons, but stays stationary using its claws and tail trying to turn fast enough to keep the zoid facing it as it fires off the cannons.

The Heldigunner headed towards the Sinker as the small ray plunged into the water and began to swing around the side of the iguana. meanwhile, Alex submerged, diving to check on the Godos and the Gojulas. It hadn't seemed to cross his mind to think about Mark, Lance and Vincent, all of whom had been on the bottom of the lake in their disabled Zoids, but in the end, it was all unnecessary. As he descended, the radio crackled and he got a request.

"Alexander Carrigan, return to combat. All disabled Zoids are safely protected within E-Shield bubbles projected by the various Hovercargoes on the perimeter. We thank you for your concern, but this battle isn't finished until only one Zoid is left. Return to combat."

With that, the radio cut out and Alex decided to continue his descent and anchor at the bottom of the lake rather than leave his underside exposed to either Ivy or Kesshi, whoever survived.

Speaking of which, the Sinker was whoring its greater agility, raking fire across the Heldigunner, who was in pretty bad shape. However, it was returning some fire and things were looking pretty even. Then Ivy sealed Kesshi's fate as she began her turbulant buffeting of the Heldigunner. The Sinker swept past twice and on the third run the battered Heldigunner simply gave up the ghost, sinking into a CSF. With all other competitors elimintated, it was now down to one member of Team Sirocco against the other.

Score Update:

Kesshi: +1 Loss (Moderate Repairs)

Ivy: +1 Victory

Alex glanced up at Ivy's Sinker. "Only one left," he muttered to himself. "Didn't imagine it coming down to this."

He had the armor advantage, but with his laser machineguns gone, the only real chance he had of downing her Sinker was his least favorite weapon.

The Malder's left side slid open accompanied by a rush of bubbles from the watertight chamber, and the snail-type deployed its 60mm accelerated beam cannon. Like it or not, this was Alex's only real weapon against the maneuverability of the Sinker.

"Thought you hated that weapon, metalhead."

Ivy was still expecting a flurry of laserfire from Alex's machine guns, so it came as a surprise to her when a bolt of 60mm beam cannon fire sizzled through the water, accompanied by the roaring noise of steam cavitation. She banked right and drifted off to the side, but Alex apparently had expected her to do that, as his Malder was already turning on the spot to keep the beam cannon's fire concentrated on her underbelly.

It briefly occured to her that she could probably win this fight with a few more pressure shockwaves, knocking Alex around the cockpit, but that would be plain bad sportsmanship. She settled for juking right and banking perpendicular to the seafloor to concentrate her fire inside the Malder's exposed innards. She pulled off a bit early, leveling off and using an Immelman maneuver to come around to the Malder's rear, still harrying the interior with beam fire.

As the Sinker pulled off, another loud thump issued through the water as the beam cannon fired upon Ivy's fuselage. "I do hate this weapon. Think you can concoct something more interesting in your spare time?"

"Could you just surrender?" grinned his teammate.

Alex ignored her as the Sinker flew overhead. He barely cracked the mortar hatch, aiming to lob the explosive up and over his shell and have it land a good thirty-odd meters behind him. He had a feeling Ivy would be favoring her Immelmans today, and he hoped to catch her Sinker in the blast as it looped around for another pass.

He closed the hatch once the mortar fired. "Incoming, Ive."

Ah, so it ends... well, snakes on a plane.

Alex popped out his least favourite weapon with a sour look and began to fire it. The beam caught Ivy by surprise, since she'd been under the impression he was rescuing the Godos, and it carved along her right wing for some nasty but localized damage. Ivy immediately went onto combat mode, taking the controls and piloting with deadly skill. She flew in towards the Malder, side-slipping and juking and firing at the exposed area around the neck of the Malder and the beam cannon's pylon when she could.

As Ivy swept past, she concentrated all her fire on the beam cannnon pylon and, luck of lucks, she actually managed to remove it. She swept around to the rear of Alex just as he fired his big weapon. And I mean big, it's frelling powerful. Worst of all, despite firing blindly, he actually managed to hit Ivy's Sinker on the damaged wing. There's a massive boom, gouts of flame, and then a CSF notification appeared on Alex's screen. Congratulations buddy, it's all over.

Prizes:

Best Show: G1954 and Ivy
Best Sportsman: Lance Asakura and Atta Boy
Sole Survivor: Alex Carrigan

So, prize pool is as follows!

1. Mark Zwei - 7,500
2. Melissa Harding - 7,500 + 2 CMS
3. Atta Boy - 22,500 + FMS
4. Rinorgon Negroni - 7,500
5. Vincent - 7,500
6. Kesshi - 7,500
7. Ryu - 7,500
8. Bronwyn Ivesdon - 7,500 + 2 CMS
9. Alexander Carrigan - 7,500 + FMS
10. Lance Asakura - 22,500 + FMS

Now, repairs:

1. Mark Zwei - Heavy
2. Melissa Harding - Moderate + 1 day in hospital
3. Atta Boy - Overhaul + Psychological damage
4. Rinorgon Negroni - Overhaul
5. Vincent - Heavy
6. Kesshi - Moderate
7. Ryu - Heavy
8. Bronwyn Ivesdon - Overhaul
9. Alexander Carrigan - Moderate
10. Lance Asakura - Heavy

Finally, ranking updates:

1. Mark Zwei - +1 Loss
2. Melissa Harding - +1 Victory, +1 Loss
3. Atta Boy - +1 Victory, +1 Loss
4. Rinorgon Negroni - +1 Loss
5. Vincent - +1 Loss
6. Kesshi - +1 Loss
7. Ryu - +1 Loss
8. Bronwyn Ivesdon - +2 Victories, +1 Loss
9. Alexander Carrigan - +1 Victory
10. Lance Asakura - +1 Loss

Rightio, with the closing of the Mariner Royale, I declare the Mariner Type 17 Upgrade officially... AVAILABLE!

THE BATTLE IS OVER! NOW GO HOME, YA LOUSY MOOCHERS!