Star Wars Balto
Episode 5
The Band Trilogy #2
Written by Cyberwulfe

After the defeat of Governor Band's army over Canis, the Royal Canis Navy has beefed up its
planetary security. They have purchased several Mon Calamari ships with which to increase the
strength of their orbital defense fleet. With the added power of the new Ballistic Turbolaser, the
Canine Navy now has the power to repel any large invasion fleet, including the remnants of
Band's forces.

As new recruits are trained and shipyards full of starships are running overtime, a new weapon is
being developed on the Canine planet of Lobo...

Planet Lobo
Canine Weapons Development Facility

The sun broke over the horizon in the northeastern hemisphere of the small planet Lobo. With its tropical jungles and rolling fields of tall grass, it was the perfect sanctuary to hold a special weapons facility, far away from the rest of the Lupus System. Here, the final stages of the new Ballistic Turbolaser were completed. A Joint effort by the Canines and their Therman allies, this powerful cannon could easily disable large capital ships. Its incredible range and strength had one drawback; power. It required enormous power generators and cooling tanks, as well as one minute recharge time per shot. One of the new Calamari cruisers was to be equipped with Ballistic Turbolasers. A retrofit that would make it the most powerful ship in the RCN Fleet.

But today, conversation was on a topic that had been left dormant for several decades, but were found necessary today. After the carnage of the ground battle between Band's droid armies and the Canine Ground Forces, serious upgrades were pressed by the Alpha Pair, the rulers of the Lupus System. Technicians, drawn away from the Ballistic Turbolaser as it entered its final stages of development, were asked to design a tank that was inexpensive, heavily armed and armoured, and required a minimal crew to pilot.

The impossible task was thought over for days, until one tech remembered an old design thought up many years earlier by a crazy strategist. His idea was to build a huge walking robot, armoured with titanium plates and armed to the teeth with ballistic weapons. But the money and resources were unavailable, and he was laughed out of the weapons facility. Now, the techs had brought back his old designs and created their own Canine BattleBot.

Admiral Doc of the Royal Canis Navy and General Charley of the Canine Ground Forces stood next to a towering object that stood under a large cloth. Raising the cloth a little, Charley tried to see what was underneath, but one of the Secret Security agents pulled the cloth down and asked the two officers to take their seats. Grumbling, having had his authoritative pride hurt by the Royal Defense Agents, Charley took his seat with other officers from around the Lupus System.

"I don't understand why they wanted you here, Doc," began Charley," Looks like their new tank is ready."

"True, but apparently they have something even bigger than your new toys to show me," replied Doc.

"Like what? Another turbo laser?"

Doc chuckled," Who knows. But apparently the two are linked."

The officers hushed as one of the technicians approached a podium that sat in front of the towering object. It was a young wolf, with gray fur and a small set of glasses set on her nose. She adjusted them as she reached the podium and looked down at the group of officers.

"I want to thank you gentlemen for coming here on such short notice, but we are very excited to reveal what we have come up with. As you know we have been in development for the past two months since the battle with Band's forces, and our factory was pushed to its limits finishing this prototype. How we're going to fix the No. 3 welding arm is beyond me."

The officers murmured amongst themselves, knowing full well that the welding arms were used to weld new weapons together, and they had a full range of motion. It would take something large and bulky to overload the gyro circuits on one of the arms. They continued to listen.

"Now, after careful and painful planning, we are proud to present to you our latest weapon. The Canine BattleBot."

As she announced the weapon, the cloth was pulled away by a Canine V-24 Coyote as it flew by, grabbing the cloth on a hook that was hanging from the belly of the small fighter. As it disappeared over the hills, the sound of its engines died away, as did all sounds outside. The officers were speechless.

Standing before them was a twelve meter tall robot, standing on legs like a chicken, squatting in a sitting position. It had two legs, a torso, and a head. On the left shoulder of the torso was a large cylinder, the end of which was covered by a plastic cap. Each arm hung from its shoulder joint and was split into two parts. At the end of each arm was a large weapons pod.

General Charley approached the Bot and ran his hand along the smooth foot, which was all he could reach, for the war machine was so huge.

"All of the specifications are there in your folders," continued the tech as folders were handed out among the officers," This Bot is unnamed, but it bears a similar resemblance to an old design that was to be called the Bushwacker. She is capable of carrying rapid-firing projectile weapons, lasers, and missiles. We have also added a pair of machine guns as well."

"She?" asked Charley.

"We try not to discriminate here, General. I'm sure Admiral Doc can agree with me."

"Of course," replied Doc," My Nenana, she's a good ship."

Charlie chuckled and continued looking over the pages in his folder. He stopped while reviewing the weapons page," Um, excuse me," he turned towards the technician," What is a Gauss Rifle?"

A shattering bang shook the ground as the cannon fired. The target, an armoured medium laser tank, situated eight-hundred and eighty meters away, was in direct line of fire of the cannon. The projectile fired from the cannon struck the tank, causing it to explode in a gigantic fireball.

"Amazing!" cried General Charley," It would take one of my heavy tanks several shots to do that!"

"True, General. We based these weapons on fighting against laser-equipped tanks. Not enough armour and weapons based on unlimited ammo. The Gauss may hold very limited shots, but as you can see its weight is made up for the damage it can do. I won't even talk about our Rail Gun, which is still in development."

"Rail gun?"

The tech smiled," As far as the Gauss goes, at maximum range, a solid hit can cause a damage level or around seven point five. Your lasers, if you get lucky, could do perhaps three or four. The Rail Gun fires a magnetically charged warhead that actually seeks out metallic targets and is capable of doing damage at level twenty."

"Amazing. So I guess my tanks would be dead and worthless against one of your Bots?"

"Not true. Smaller Bots are less armoured and armed, and Bots of proper size to carry the Gauss or Rail Guns are not yet built. The worst thing our Bushwacker could do would be to use its Autocannon on your tanks."

"And the Autocannon?"

"Roughly two, or as high as six depending on the type of cannon. Autocannon Twenty's are our biggest and best cannon. The Bushwacker can carry one, but with limited ammo and other types of supportive weaponry. Its default configuration is usually its best, removing the SRM's will allow for better short-range, unlimited ammo weapons such as medium and small lasers."

"So my tanks are still dead," sighed Charley.

"I won't get into details about missiles either."

"What was it you wanted to show me?" asked Doc, feeling left out with all the talk of missiles and cannons.

"Of course," said the tech. She picked up a commlink and dialed a number," Jack. Bring them into the Gauss test area."

A great rumbling sound shook the ground as the next presentation approached. From over a steep cliff appeared huge bulb-shaped vessels, soaring over the ground at a slow hover. The three ships set down right in front of the officers, who were almost blown off their feet by the landing jets. A huge door opened, allowing the observers to enter, looking up at the vast levels of the ship, and the immense cranes that hung from the walls.

"These are dropships. They will carry our Bots into battle from orbit, or carry them vast distances into the battle areas. Right now we have on loan from the RCN a Y-Class Heavy Cruiser, that is being modified with extra shield generators and armour plates. it will act as a Bot carrier and dropship base. Its hanger, inner decks, and defensive guns are being removed and replaced with docking facilities for dropships and holding areas for Bots of all sizes, once more become developed.

"The guns will be replaced with smaller laser cannons and several small warhead launchers. All in all the ship will more durable, faster, and able to either run or stay alive long enough for help to arrive. It will also end up being over six meters longer. Not much, but it will be. Heh!"

The tech seemed very proud of her work.

"And what kind of defenses and escorts will these dropships need?" asked Charley.

"Almost none. Each dropship has large laser emplacements and anti-troop autocannons. Basically they can defend themselves, but they should still be escorted to the drop areas."

"Of course. That's the Admiral's job."

Doc smiled and admired the inside of the large craft. The three floors were made of thick steel and braced by cobwebs of supportive beams made of even thicker pieces of metal. Surely these Battle Bots weighed many tons.

"How much do they weigh?" asked Doc.

"Well, Light Bot variations weigh between twenty and thirty-five tons. Medium class are forty to fifty-five, Heavies are sixty to seventy-five, and eighty and up are called Assault-Class Bots. Trust me, on the drawing boards they look impressive, but they are called Assault Bots for a reason."

Charlie nodded," So, when do we get to see one in action? I want to see what they are capable of."

Meanwhile, in the far-off edges of the Lupus System. The desolate planet XP 31, never explored or named, has visitors for the first time in many years. A large ring-shaped ship approached the planet, and settled into a stable orbit. As it hovered hundreds of kilometers off the surface of the planet, smaller ships began to launch from its main hanger. First one, then in pairs, until a total of seven ships had left. Defensive guns tracked the ships as they approached the planet, covering them from any possible attacks, while other cannons scanned the skies for attacking ships.

On board the Lambda-Class Shuttle, ex-Governor Band sat quietly, planning his next move against the House of Canis. His humiliating defeat months ago still boiled anger inside him. Anyone who even mentioned the Alpha Pair were put to death swiftly by Band's personal bodyguard and advisor, Bitey. The white malemute had little time left and little patience. He needed a secret weapon to use against the Alpha Pair. Something to rush in and crush them under his boot. And this man he was coming to see, this Feral Eridani, had promised him exactly that. Only in the transmission, Feral and replaced the word "boot" with "armoured foot". Band was curious to see what the scientist had in mind.

Band felt almost safe, being escorted to the planet's surface by four escort shuttles and a pair of assault transports. Enough firepower to destroy a small cruiser, and more than enough to protect him from any attacking fighters. Plus, his attack drones were mere minutes away, if any sign of attack was seen from his command ship, the Overlord.

The group of seven ships approached a large complex that was guarded by massive gun towers, robotic killer droids, and twenty of Feral's personally trained guards. The elite bodyguards that kings only dreamed of. Selling black market weapons, state of the art sensors, and armour plating had earned Feral many enemies, and he never took unnecessary chances when it came to personal protection.

The shuttle landed inside the walls of the complex, along with the assault transports and one of the escort shuttles. The other craft returned to the Overlord. Band and Bitey emerged from the shuttle and squinted in the bright sun. They had been on board the Overlord many weeks, and hadn't been out in the sun for a long time. They were flanked by a dozen armoured battle droids. The assault transports remained stationary, awaiting the return to the massive ship orbiting above.

A silver protocol droid approached them and bowed," I am D-5PO. My master will see you in his main development building."

"Very well. Lead the way," said Band impatiently. He hated droids, especially polite ones. He preferred killer droids. His own body guards.

The droid nodded and turned. It began to walk at a brisk pace towards a large gray building. Smoke and steam belched from several chimneys, and Band could see many massive doors on the facing side of the building. He heard a loud whirring sound, and then looked up as a helicopter flew out of the roof of the building.

"There must be a door hatch in the roof," he whispered to Bitey, who was just a few inches past his left shoulder, always at his master's side.

Bitey just nodded, always the silent protector.

As they entered the building, a large droid trained its guns on them, and a small man walked out of a security checkpoint.

"What do you want?" asked Band, looking down at the small man.

Bitey grinned and reached for the force pike that he kept folded on his back in its own sheath.

"Your guns, Governor. My master doesn't want to take any chances," said the man, a stern look on his face.

Bitey pulled out his pike," Says you."

"I doubt you want to make Big Al mad either," said the man. The large droid clicked the safeties off its guns and took a step forward, towering over both Band and his samoyed bodyguard.

"Very well," Band pulled out his blaster pistol and a knife that he hid under his vest," I suppose my droids will remain here?"

"Yes, Governor."

Band grumbled," Give him your pike you idiot."

Bitey snarled at the man as he handed over his pike," Anytime, puny one."

The man chuckled and nodded to Big Al. The droid stepped back into the darkness and deactivated its guns. Band followed the man through the winding hallways of the building until he came to an armoured door.

"Codeword X-V-90," spoke the man into a microphone next to the door.

The door creaked and slowly slid up into the ceiling. The man motioned for Band and Bitey to enter, which they did. Behind a desk sat Feral, an aging white wolf with a scar over his right eye. His tail was black, and he had streaks of black running through his arms. A gray patch of fur surrounded one eye.

"Welcome Gov'nor," he said with an accent," What a pleasure it is to see you so soon after your defeat."

Bitey almost jumped, but was stopped by one look from Band.

"I was 'oping you might want to do some dealing o' my weapons. After all, you must be about ready to fight back against the Alpha Pair, am I right?"

"Yes. But I need something big. Something..."

"I know. To crush them under your boot. And as I said in my reply, how about something to crush them under your armoured foot instead."

"Yes. I recall. But what exactly do you mean?"

"Let me show you," said Feral, almost smiling. He stood up and walked across the room to a black panel on the wall," This ain't no panel either. It's a shaded piece of glass. On the other side it's also a one way mirror, so we are the only ones looking out. I want to show you my weapon. It's rather old, but still better than anything the other Canines 'ave developed yet."

Feral pressed a button and the panel rose to reveal a room filled with machines and steam. Droids and workers moved around, doing various tasks, but the most impressive thing was a huge robot standing in the middle of the room.

"Is that it?" asked Band, shocked. He had never seen such a big robot.

"Yes. I call it my Dire Wolf. I have others like it, smaller and bigger..."

"Bigger!?"

"Yes. 'E's only a Heavy-Class. My Assault-Class Wolves are very impressive. I have to keep them outside. Would you like a tour?"

"Please." Band motioned for Bitey to stand down.

"Now, when the techies on the hidden planet rejected my Dire Wolf designs, I fled here to begin my own construction of the Wolf BattleBots. Of course, I had to hire workers or volunteers, build my facilities, and eventually construct everything from scratch, but as you can see, the years have been nicer to my pockets than to myself. I am getting old, and with no son or any family to inherit my work I want to leave it in the trusted hands of a military power that will use it and keep it running."

"I suppose you are hoping that I will take over?" asked Band.

"Per'aps. The right person has yet to show himself. But per'aps if we become good business partners we could work something out. Right now I want to sell you my Dire Wolf robots and let you crush the Alpha Pair. But on your way could you kill those idiots on Lobo for me? That'll teach them a lesson for not accepting my Wolf Robots."

"Certainly," agreed Band," Now. Show me what these pieces of scrap metal can do."

"Ah ah ah! Don't 'urt their feelings. They are much more than that," said Feral. He pointed to a young black wolf who was wearing a pilot's uniform," Sheena here will show you what this thing can do."

"A female?" asked Band.

"What? You think I can't pilot this thing?" asked the wolf, grinning at Band," Trust me, it's not easy, but I could drive circles around any tank ever made. Finding a parking space for this thing ain't easy though!"

"I can't believe how you have no sons with a talented and beautiful female like this working here," said Band.

"I agree," said a gray wolf who appeared from behind the Dire Wolf's legs. He approached Band and shook his paw," I'm Jace. Sheena's mate. I'll be her mission Op for this trial session."

Band felt slightly uncomfortable," Oh really? Trial, did you say?"

"Yes. We just built this Bot a day ago and we're eager to get her out in the field,' replied Jace, ignoring Band's wandering gazes towards Sheena.

"Shall we go to the observation tower then?" asked Feral, motioning towards a door that led outside.

The trio sat atop the tower, baking in the sun. Band looked through a pair of macrobinoculars at the Dire Wolf as it stomped out of the complex and towards five dummy targets that had risen out of the ground.

"Now this Bot carries sophisticated weapons. Small missiles, lasers, projectile weapons. Extremely sensitive targeting equipment and sensors give it the edge over any tank. It is armoured and can obtain a top speed of sixty-five kilometers per hour," Feral grabbed his commlink," Sheena, open her up and show the Governor here what she can do."

"I copy, sir," Sheena's voice came through a small speaker.

The Bot accelerated and was almost out of sight.

"Send out the drone tanks," ordered Feral," Once she doubles back and comes back this way, those medium and heavy tanks will try to prevent her from getting back to the base."

"Heavy tanks? But won't they...?" asked Band.

"Barely a scratch. You thought that the LB-X Autocannon was the best thing to come to the Heavy Tank. Well my Dire Wolf has three of them, so he'll toast that tank with one shot. Also, the Bot is so heavily armoured that those medium tanks could fire until their lasers melt and they still couldn't kill it."

"Really?" said Band, amazed.

"Well, yeah they could destroy it easily. But It would take a long time. Time they wouldn't have I'm afraid."

Band chuckled. These war machines were his kind of weapons.

"Better get your goggles on," said Feral.

Band responded by pulling the binoculars back to his eyes and scanning the field below for any sign of the Bot. He saw it a few seconds later, exactly one second before it shot a volley of missiles at the nearest tank. Band tracked the missiles with his binoculars and watched as the medium tank exploded. The other tanks opened fire with their laser cannons. The Bot fired back with a red laser and destroyed another tank. Two mediums, followed by a heavy, rode at full speed, trying to get into range before being destroyed. The heavy tank fired its autocannon, but the shots just bounced off the armour of the Bot. The Bot fired its own autocannons at the tank and blew it to tiny fiery bits, and then fired another missile at the smaller tank. With only two left, the Bot took off again at half speed and shot itself dry.

Feral was pleased. Band was amazed. Bitey was silent as always. Band stood next to Feral and looked down below the tower as the Bot stopped. The tower was over fifty meters tall, but the Bot looked so close. The cockpit opened and Sheena saluted. Band saluted back, no longer caring about the beautiful wolf inside the Bot. He wanted the Bot.

"So, Governor. Shall we settle a price?"

Planet Canis, Orbital Defense Fleet
Crew Quarters of Captain Balto and his mate

Balto woke up as his droid buzzer went off. Reaching out to grab it, he accidentally knocked it off the bedside table and onto the floor. It tumbled several feet away, out of his reach. Balto groaned and got out of bed, trying not to disturb the red and white husky that slept next to him. They had been married for three months now, and she was carrying his future son. Balto deactivated the small droid and yawned. No chance of getting to sleep now, he entered the kitchen of his quarters and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

After the first sip, his mate Jenna entered.

"Sorry if I woke you," said Balto.

"No. The droid did that for you," chuckled Jenna.

"I'm thinking of taking that thing apart. It's a pain in the tail."

"But if you didn't have it then you'd be late for your patrols all the time."

Balto hugged Jenna," Is that an order, sir?

Jenna smiled, nodded, and kissed him.

"Well, as much as I enjoy this I'd better get in gear and fly out. See you tonight, hon."

Jenna waved as Balto left the room. Ever since she found out she was pregnant she had been officially off duty. Her friends Tricksy and Rina were also pregnant, having been at the same wedding. It was a three-way wedding, performed by the Alpha Pair themselves. Quite an honour. Now instead of flying, Jenna and her friends just hung around and caught up on old hobbies and leisure activities. One of which, that Jenna loved, was taking long warm bubble baths.

Balto entered the hanger and greeted his copilots. Steele, a black and white malemute with a mean attitude, Nikki, a brown chow who was fair tempered and fun to be around, Kaltag, witty and funny, he was the brain of the squadron, Star, a wacky guy who just liked to have fun, but a sure shot and aggressive pilot, and Bumper, a St. Bernard who missed flying his old ship, the Long Howl. They had all been assigned to the Super Elite Defense Squadron, after defeating Band and his attackers. They all flew swift V-40 Assault Fighters, upgraded with more powerful cannons, shield generators, and dual missile launchers. Balto missed his old A-Wing fighter, but you don't argue with a promotion.

Everyone in the squadron had been promoted to Lieutenant Commander, except Balto who was demoted from Lt. General in order to lead the squadron. Balto didn't mind. It was too close to General, and he didn't like all the extra responsibilities anyway. The squadron's new coloured were white ships with red and blue stripes. The symbols of the Royal Canis Navy were on each wing tip and fuselage, and the Elite Defense Squadron logo was etched into the tops of each fighter. The pilots wore flat black jump suits and gray helmets, with state of the art heating and life support systems.

The V-40 Foxx fighters were brand new, having been built on assembly line just one week after the battle and painted and detailed especially for the team. They were shiny and without a single dent or blemish, having never seen combat. The past three months had been stuck in training missions and patrols. Most of the crew had never flown a V-40 before, and there was always the threat of invasion from somebody, especially the escaped Band and his pair of battleships; the Behemoth and Overlord.

"What's today's roster, Star?" asked Balto.

The small gray husky pulled out a datapad and began to read," Apparently we are up for some R & R, boss," Star smiled.

"Really? You're kidding me? You mean I woke up for nothing?"

"Well, not nothing. They planned a little party for us in the lounge. Feel like coming?" asked Kaltag.

"Sure. How about you Steele?" asked Nikki.

"Hmph. I might as well," grumbled the big black and white malemute.

"Great. Let's go."

The group of pilots entered the dimly lit pilots lounge, where every pilot on the new Calamari Cruiser Arctic liked to hang out. Balto and the gang took seats along the bar and began to much on peanuts. They each ordered a glass of Canine Gtyou and sucked down the strong liquor as if it was nothing but water. Flyboys always drink well, as do sailors, but gytou is strong enough to knock a human out with one sip, and possibly kill him if he can stomach the entire glass. As the pilots chatted, the topic of females arose.

"What are females doing piloting ships anyway?" asked Steele," They belong behind a desk or something."

"Hey, I resent that!" said Balto.

"Yeah," agreed Bumper," Our girls are very talented, aren't they Balto?"

"Here here!" agreed Balto. He and Bumber clinked glasses.

"Easy for you to say. You're married. We don't even have dates," said Star.

"Don't remind me, dere," complained Nikki," I wish I had stayed wit dat Mishka Chow girl. Man she was sweet."

"Yeah. How about you Steele?" asked Star.

"Females are a distraction. I prefer flying and I like it that way."

"Fine. Well Bumper and I are going to go sit over there. You coming, Kaltag?" asked Balto.

"Sure. We can talk about our women while these guys wish they had some, heh!" laughed Kaltag.

The three canines left the bar and sat at a nearby table.

"I tell you, guys. We need to get some girls. Look at those guys, they're way ahead of us!" said Star.

"I agree," Nikki took another sip of his drink," We look pathetic," he looked into the mirror behind the bar.

Just as Steele looked up, a sexy female fox walked by. The trio turned in their seats and leaned against the bar, watching as she sat down at the other side of the lounge.

"Would you look at that?" said Star.

"Wow!" gasped Nikki.

"Lieutenant Vixy. Assigned here last week from the Corvette Libra. Pilot. Flies a Foxx. Likes movies about girls who get guys, guys who lose girls, and nature films about foxes. Her favorite colour is red, she wears red jammies to bed, and her boyfriend has been going steady with her for the past three months," Steele said, almost in one breath.

"That's amazing," said Star with his mouth hanging open," How did you know...?"

"About the jammies part? She stepped out of her quarters for a quick walk the other day. I happened to be going for a walk myself. Nice tail too."

Nikki and Star just looked at each other in disbelief.

Bitey crossed his arms and began to tap his fingers on the edge of his gauntlets. The contract had been drawn up and all Band had to do was sign it, and three-million credits later he would have his own army of BattleBots. Band was scanning the piece of paper once more, to double check the scripting. Then finally he picked up a pen and signed his name on the dotted line.

"It's agreed. I'll call my ships to transfer the money down in shuttles. Meanwhile, my heavy lifters can carry the new Bots into my cruiser," said Band, standing up.

"Very well. Oh, by the way," began Feral, reaching into his desk. Bitey became tense," Here are your weapons."

Feral handed Band his pistol and Bitey his force pike, still folded and in its sheath. Bitey only growled as he snatched back his weapon. Band checked the power level in his blaster before replacing it to his holster.

"Barely any charge left, Feral. You'd think you didn't trust me?" said Band, acting hurt.

"Can't take any chances. Even if you did start something, you wouldn't have enough power for five shots."

"I like you. You think a lot like I do," commented Band.

"I think smart and safe. Can't take chances in my business," said Feral as the trio walked outside into the bright sun. Band's new Bots were being lined up by several pilots and Band looked at his new weapons of destruction.

"They seem to impersonify what we are trying to do, eh Bitey?" Band said to his bodyguard.

"Yesss," agreed Bitey, allowing the last letter to slide through his lips. Bitey walked over to a large Bot that stood over fifteen meters tall and ran his hand along the smooth metal of the armoured foot," This one shall be mine!"

"Of course," agreed Band," Only the best for my best."

Bitey grinned, showing his nail-like teeth, and continued to admire the massive Bot.

"That one is my largest model," said Feral," One-hundred twenty tons of weapons, ammo, and attitude."

"Excellent!"

As the first of the Bots was being carried up, Band sat inside his shuttle and keyed a frequency to the Overlord," We're beginning the operation. Stand by to take the rest of the Bots and weapons."

"Very well, sir. Landing ships and Bulk Barges are standing by."

"Deploy!"

Several minutes later, six armoured military ships entered the atmosphere and landed several hundred meters from the complex. From each one came four Heavy Assault tanks and two battle droid carriers, each capable of carrying up to one-hundred and fifty droids. The army deployed in front of the eyes of those standing on the walls of the complex. Band had declared war on them.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Feral.

"I'm stealing your Bots, your weapons. Everything," said Band.

"We had a deal!"

"I just canceled it. Bitey, take care of this," said Band.

"With pleasure!" chuckled Bitey, pulling out his force pike and unfolding the pieces in one quick flick of his arm. He slowly approached the weapons manufacturer.

Suddenly a laser blast shot from the shadows and knocked Bitey several feet away. Big Al, the security droid, was attacking. Bring his six high-powered laser cannons to bear, he began shooting at Band and Bitey and their personal guards.

"Damn! Back to the shuttle!" ordered Band.

He and Bitey bid a hasty retreat to the safety of their shuttle, listening to the cannons that were now battering the side of their ship," Deploy the droids from the Assault Transports!"

"Of course!" Bitey gave the order through a commlink and soon thirty droids spewed from the hatches of the transport ships. Big Al was destroyed by their blaster rifles.

Band once again emerged from his shuttle and stood several meters away from Feral. He pulled out his blaster," I only need one shot, Feral."

But before Band could pull the trigger, a huge armoured leg stomped in front of him. Band looked up to see a ten meter tall, forty ton Bot looking down at him. Its guns all moved and targeted his frightened face. Band hesitated, then took a step backwards. He ran pell-mell back into his shuttle.

"Order the attack! Destroy this place!" he cried.

Bitey sent the order to the army waiting outside. Soon afterwards he and band were watching the battle from the air.

"Let's see how these BattleBots do against my assault tanks. They've even defeated the Canine Heavy Tanks on even terms," laughed Band.

Inside the complex, Feral was ordering his pilots to their Bots. Twelve heavily armed Bots stomped their way out of the complex and fanned out into a line abreast formation. Having long-range weaponry, they were the first to open fire on the attackers. The droid tanks fired back, doing little damage to any of the Bots.

"They'll soon punch through that armour," Band assured himself.

One Bot fired an autocannon across the field, striking a tank and blowing off one of its armoured cannons. A second Bot, targeting the same tank, fired three missiles, which finished off the tank. Battle droids ran in every direction, while the infantry continued to march forward, firing on the incoming Bots.

As the Bots reached the droids and began hand to armoured foot combat, many droids were crushed under the tonnage of the war machines. The tanks scored a fatal wound on a Light-Class Bot, which fell over. Once it stood itself upright, it began to limp back to base, protected by a large Assault-Bot that stood in front of it. The tiny lasers rifles carried by the droids were of no use against the armour of the Bots. The droid tanks were having a hard time doing any damage against the Bots, and they were the main target of the Bots' attacks.

Soon all of the tanks were destroyed, and the Bots used their laser weapons to destroy the droids, wanting to conserve their limited ammunition. As soon as the battle ended, the Bots began firing into the air at the low-flying shuttle. Band ordered Bitey to land the ship inside the complex's walls. He was flanked by six light Bots. Band and Bitey emerged, looking around as the pilots watched their every move. He approached Feral and pulled the contract out of his vest pocket.

"Perhaps... I would like to honour this contract after all," grumbled Band.

"A wise decision, Governor. Now, I would like payment in full before you get any more of my Bots on your ship above."

"Of course," Band said through gritted teeth. He hadn't planning on paying so much for the Bots, but he had been defeated. And if Feral could do it then the Canine Army could do it again. Band was tired of his defeats. With these Bots he was assured victory over the Canines. All he needed was the right time, and the right diversion.

Balto shuffled his butt in his chair. He hated long shuttle rides through the sector, especially since a hyperspace jump would have been quicker. But apparently they were going to a top secret weapons facility and they couldn't hyperjump. Not many people knew about this base, especially not lowly pilots in the Navy. But apparently it was an issue of national security, and as the Super Elite Defense Squadron, security of the planet Canis was their main concern.

The shuttle finally made its final approach on the planet Lobo and began to enter the atmosphere. Balto looked down at he lush jungles and fields of tall grass. He had never been to Lobo, mainly because it was a secret facility and was defended from any intruders, even Canine Navy pilots. As they got closer to the ground, Balto could see a large building that was built mostly underground. It barely rose thirty feet from the ground and was camouflaged to match the colours of the field.

Balto noticed several large round pods sitting in the field almost a kilometer away. Balto wondered what could be held in such large tanks, or whatever they were. Balto bounced lightly in his seat as the shuttle touched down, and then the engines began to shut off and the landing ramp extended towards the soft grass below.

"This is it, guys," he said to his three companions.

"Why did we have to come along on this stupid trip?" asked Steele.

"Yeah. I'd much rather have gone on another patrol," complained Star.

"I'm curious as to what they have to show us," said Bumper, a bit more cheerful than the other two.

The four Canine pilots emerged from the shuttle and stood waiting for their escort to arrive. A small speeder approached and they were asked to get in. The speeded sped off directly towards the large pods.

"I guess we'll get to find out what's in those big pods over there," said Balto.

"They're not pods, sir," said the driver," They're dropships."

"Dropships? They're huge!" gasped Star.

"What have they got in there that they need a dropship that big? asked Balto.

The driver remained silent. As they drove closer the Canines could see Admiral Doc standing next to one of the large ships. He was standing in the shade, protected by the hot sun, and emerged to greet the pilots.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," said Doc.

"Always a pleasure, sir," said Balto, saluting," Now, would you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask. Come with me, all of you," Doc motioned for them to follow him.

Star, Steele, Balto, and Bumber all followed their commander as he walked around the large ship. Bumper looked up towards the top of the ship, but the round hull prevented him from seeing its summit. Bumber whistled.

"Ever since our ground forces were pounded by Band's tanks," began Doc," We have been developing a new type of ground attack weapon. It has been in development for the past three months, and now it's ready for its first trial runs."

"What exactly are they? Tanks?" asked Balto," And how do they concern us? We're pilots. Air defense. We'd probably be covering them from the air."

"Not exactly," said Doc," These new defense weapons can attack anything on the ground and in the air. They have lasers, missiles, solid projectile cannons. Armour plating thicker than a Heavy Assault Tank."

Doc stopped next to a switch on the side of the large dropship that was labelled "Auxillary Release"," Are you boys ready to see them?"

The group of pilots looked at each other and nodded.

Doc pulled the release switch and stood back as the massive doors began to swing open. Balto and the other pilots stepped away as they opened, looking into the darkness, trying to see what waited inside. As the first shafts of light fell on the new weapons, Balto's eyes widened as he looked up at the towering monstrosity in front of him. He could feel Star place his hand on Balto's shoulder, also filled with awe at the sight. Bumper took a few steps towards the Bot and placed his hand on the cold metal.

"What are they?" asked Bumper.

"They are Canine BattleBots. Robotic war machines with one purpose: to destroy the enemy," replied Doc.

Steele approached and gripped the metal ladder that was welded to the side of the Bot's leg," And you want us to pilot them?"

"Exactly. Who better to pilot these machines than our best? The elite of the elite. What do you say?" asked Doc.

Balto gazed around him as the doors opened as far as they could go, then groaned to a halt. There were three floors inside the ship, and each of them was filled with BattleBots. Large and small, of all different designs. They were bristling with weapons. Missile launchers, massive laser cannons and other armament. Balto imagined piloting such a machine in combat. Victory after victory.

"So. Do you accept your new assignments?"

Balto looked around him in the cockpit of the Bushwacker. Designated a Medium-Class Bot, it was armed with a Type-10 Autocannon, long and short-range missiles, machine guns, and a long range large laser. He adjusted the headset on his ears and fixed the mic so it was in front of his mouth, ready to accept his voice. A military cadet helped Balto to strap into the safety harness and ejection seat, and then gave Balto a thumbs-up as the cockpit closed, sealing Balto in. He was now a part of the BattleBot.

"Alright. I'm ready," he said, talking into his mic to the instructor in front of him.

"First, reach down and pull the small orange switch, followed by the big red button in the middle of your console," reported the instructor, who was also piloting a Bushwacker.

"Alright," said Balto," Done."

Balto listened as the engine started up and his systems came online, first of which was his computer brain, "Reactor online. Weapons online. Sensors online. All systems nominal."

"Strange," said Balto.

"Now, we're going to start with basic maneuvers, then get into some fun stuff later. I want you to check out the throttle control on the left of your cockpit," said Balto's instructor.

Balto looked down to his left and saw a small lever protruding from the side of the cockpit, not unlike the throttle control on his fighter cockpit," Alright. I see it."

"I want you to push forward gently."

"Roger."

Balto pushed forward on the lever, and his Bot began to slowly accelerate. It bounced up and down with each step, as the massive legs lifted the chassis higher off the ground and forward towards the instructor.

"Good. Now, take the control stick and pilot your Bot towards mine. Excellent. Now throttle back until you come to a complete stop."

Balto's Bot stopped several meters away from the instructor's. Balto looked around him. He was now standing twelve meters off the ground. He could see Star, Steele, and Bumper looking up at him from their positions on the ground. He waved down and listened as the instructor continued.

"You can use your throttle to move faster or slower. If you press the red button on the top of the throttle lever, with your thumb, you can move your Bot forwards or backwards. This button changes your direction. You can also crouch by pressing the blue button on the bottom of the throttle lever."

Balto pressed the blue button and his Bot crouched down, standing just seven meters off the ground.

"You cannot move when crouching, and you must be at a complete stop to do so. This may throw off the aim of attacking vehicles, or allow you to hide behind low-lying objects or debris. Now, throttle up and follow me"

The instructor's Bot started to accelerate and turned down a concrete path, leaving massive footprints in its wake. Balto throttled up and turned his Bot using the control direction stick.

"You can move your torso up and down, or left and right by moving the torso control lever sitting next to the throttle control lever. We've put them close together so you can concentrate your right arm on weapons and targeting."

Balto tested the new controls by tilting his torso down and looking at the ground, then up at the sky. Balto then turned his torso to the left and looked to his left, and then to the right. He centered the torso manually.

"You can center your torso by pressing the green button at the bottom of the torso control stick," said the instructor.

Balto pressed the button and his torso moved a few degrees to the right. He was just barely off the mark.

"Now, look up at the top-left of your console. There you will find your radar. You can see me as a blue dot. Much like the radar on your fighter jet. The green triangle is your line of sight. This will move and rotate as you rotate your torso. The straight red line is the direction your Bot is facing. All enemy vehicles or units will be registered as red triangles or dots."

Balto could see a blue dot on the radar, representing the instructor's Bot in front of him. Balto looked at the rest of the controls. Weapons, sensors, temperature, and coolant. There seemed to be a lot of complicated equipment on this Bot. Balto knew that there would be a lot of training involved.

"Now we'll practice our weapons. Under the weapons panel there is a series of buttons. These allow you to arrange your weapons into groups and manage what weapon fires when you want it to. On your main control stick there are several buttons. The trigger is your main firing button," said Balto's instructor.

Balto examined the control stick by feeling it with his hand. He could feel the trigger and the other buttons.

"The button where your right thumb is resting is your weapon select button. This allows you to change weapon groups as well as weapons inside of groups. Right now your weapons are all in the same group. It is recommended that you put your weapons in groups according to their range. With long range weapons in group one, medium range weapons in group two, and so on."

Balto looked at his weapons screen. It showed all of his laser and missile weapons, as well as ammunition for each weapon. He had one-hundred twenty long range missiles on board his Bot, as well as twenty rounds of ammo for his autocannon. Each of his short range missile launchers had twenty missiles. After playing with the selection buttons for a few seconds, Balto managed to arrange his weapons in groups that he felt comfortable with.

"As you can see ahead of you, there are several dummy targets rising from the ground. Use your helmet sight reticle to lock onto the target using the button under your middle finger on the control stick," said Balto's instructor.

Balto did as he was told and pressed the button with his middle finger. A red triangle appeared on the target, which was nothing more than a large piece of steel about twenty meters tall. There were six in total, and each were shaped like a square peg, about two feet thick.

"Now, select your short range missiles and lock on. Once you hear the tone, fire."

Balto aimed his reticle over the target until his computer beeped. It beeped about five times in rapid succession before he heard a tone. He fired his missiles, which struck the target without doing much damage. Balto fired once more, then again with his second launcher. Suddenly an alarm went off in his cockpit.

"What did I do?" cried Balto, looking around at the controls in his cockpit.

"Take it easy. That is your heat warning. It goes off when your Bot has built up too much heat during battle. Firing weapons releases heat, depending on what weapon you use. Some weapons generate very little heat, while others generate quite a bit of heat. Your short range missiles, fired as they were, would have eventually caused a meltdown of your reactor. Fortunately, we have programmed in an automatic shut down. Your Bot will shut down if it gets too hot, and then wait until it has cooled off before starting up again. This is a good safety feature, but it's of no use to you while in combat.

"Take a look at the left side of your cockpit, near the middle. That indicator is your heat meter. It usually sits in the blue zone, as you are just moving around in your Bot. But after firing weapons it will rise and eventually come into the red zone. This is where your alarm goes off. With this in mind now, try destroying the rest of the targets."

Great, thought Balto, I could have self-destructed this thing!

Balto switched to his autocannnon and demolished the target with two shots. Then, switching to his large laser, destroyed another target with only one shot. A few minutes later, the rest of the targets had been destroyed.

"Good," said the instructor," Now, head back to the Drop Ship and we'll let your friends give it a try."

Balto piloted his Bot back to the ship where the others had been watching. After powering down his Bot and climbing down the access ladder Balto was approached by General Charlie.

"So, do you like our new weapons, pilot?" he asked.

"Yes sir," replied Balto enthusiastically.

"Would you like to take another ride in one later today?"

"Hell yes!"

Bitey looked on as the last of the Bots were loaded into the Overlord's cargo bay... number six. Ex-Governor Band was now in possession of forty of the most deadly war machines in the galaxy. Cargo bay's seven and eight were to be filled with weapons and ammunition, since none existed outside the secret complex. Bitey walked down the rows of deactivated Bots and checked each one on his list. Vulture, Puma, Mad Cat. They were mostly feline names, but their configurations fit their names perfectly. Bitey made it a point to rename them all to suit their needs. The white samoyed stopped as he arrived at a huge Bot. Checking his list, he saw that it was called an Apocalypse, and was the Bot he had seen the other day. It weighed one-hundred twenty tons, and was loaded with powerful weapons. Bitey approached the Bot and looked up at its eighteen meter tall chassis.

Grinning slyly to himself he typed his name into the datapad and arranged to have a large red skull, dripping with blood, painted on the front face of the massive Bot. This was to be his personal weapon of war. He would lead Band's Bots into battle and bring back the bodies of the Alpha Pair.

Band approached, his white tail swinging behind him, almost as if it were wagging. Knowing Band never wagged his tail, a movement meaning happiness or contentment, Bitey was curious as to what it meant.

"Is everything running as smoothly as it looks?" asked Band, placing a furry paw on the leg of the Apocalypse.

"Perfect," said Bitey.

"Good. Now we will finally have our revenge and destroy the Alpha Pair and take Canis for ourselves. I can almost hear Admiral Doc and General Charlie begging me for mercy. Begging me to spare what is left of their pitiful defense forces, and save them for my own army. Not that I will need them with all these Bots, but they will make good picket ships and scout vehicles."

"Informant news? Have you heard anything?" asked Bitey.

"Nothing recently. She does a good job. I expect we'll hear something soon. The last I heard the Canines had purchased two MC-80b-Class cruiser from the Mon Calamari. That could pose a problem, since they are more heavily armed and armoured than our cruisers. But if we can break through the defenses and drop our Bots on the planet, they won't have a chance against us," Band rubbed his paws together and looked around at the army of robots that surrounded him, crouching in shut-down position. They almost seemed to be bowing before him.

"Look at how they bow to me, Bitey. Soon, the entire galaxy will do the same."

"Expanding our goals?" asked the samoyed.

"Just a dream I have. Once Canis is mine, I will be in charge of one of the most powerful militaries in the galaxy. Think about it. We defeated the Galactic Empire when they attacked. Although we failed to repel Andross, he is dead now and his forces are in hiding. Maybe that will be my next goal? To get revenge for my home planet."

Bitey looked at his master curiously. Why the sudden love for Canis? He hated it so much and wanted to destroy it. But now he spoke of avenging Canis' losses from years ago. As Governor, Band was responsible for defenses and protecting the Alpha Pair. But their tolerance for hybrid canines such as Balto had driven Band mad with anger. Band wanted to correct that problem and remake Canis in his perfect image. Once it was defeated, it would be a simple matter of taking over with his Bots and rebuilding the prewar devastation.

Band nodded once more towards the Apocalypse and walked down the row of Bots, admiring the rest of his army. Bitey followed him with his eyes for several seconds, then went back to checking the Bots.

"No no no," complained the instructor," That tactic would never work, sir."

Steele cursed inside his cockpit. He had been killed six times now by dummy weapons, and was getting a little frustrated.

"Going head-on towards a Heavy Bot like that will only get you killed. You need to use your smaller size and speed as an advantage. Remember, there aren't any shields on this machine, and you can easily have your leg blown off. Try using that to your advantage."

"Having my leg blown off?" scowled Steele.

"No. Blow the other guy's leg off, sir."

"Of course. The other guy," Steele snarled.

Steele tried the combat training again. Once he was within range of the enemy he began firing his autocannon and lasers, keeping his targeting reticle on the right leg of his attacker. The targeting screen registered a yellow outline on the leg. Steele was making an impact. Several missiles collided with Steele's Bot, but did little damage. Checking his own status, Steele saw his right torso coloured yellow, but noting worth worrying about... yet.

Concentrating on the task at hand, Steele locked onto the leg and fired a volley of missiles. Finally the armour in the leg gave way and the enemy Bot toppled to the ground. It slowly stood up once more, but Steele was ready with his autocannon. He stopped his Bot dead and aimed carefully at the damaged leg. He fired, watching his red hot projectiles collide and blow the leg clear off the enemy Bot. It once again toppled, never to stand again.

"Excellent. Aside from the missiles you took I think you did very well in that round. Follow me to the training area and we'll see how your friends are doing," said Steele's instructor.

Steele turned his Bot towards his instructor's and followed at a brisk pace. He come to the top of a ridge and was surprised by the bright flash of a Particle Projector Cannon. It flashed through the air and collided violently with a target. It exploded and fell to the ground in a dozen smoldering pieces.

The pilots from Canis were doing well. They had been joined by over thirty other pilots, both veterans and rookies, who had volunteered to try their luck with the new weapons. Each had sworn an oath of secrecy, never to reveal the weapons to anyone. They all stayed on base and trained for ten straight hours each day. It was a stressful routine, but Canis wanted their pilots ready to fight anything at any time.

Not only were they learning piloting and combat, but also teamwork. Groups of Bots, as many as four Bots was called a Lance. Three Lances were called a Company. Three Companies were called a Battalion, and three to five Battalions were called a Regiment. The pilots would train in Lances, learning each other's skills and weaknesses. Soon they learned to fight as a team, and learned what to expect from each other. One Lance was soon able to bring down two heavy Bots, while another was fighting against an Assault-Class Bot. They were getting good at it too.

Balto and Bumper sat under the shade of a Werewolf Bot. Bumper yawned and continued flipping through the pages of a technical manual he was reading.

"You know. If I had one of those really big Bots, I'd load two Gauss Rifles, a PPC (Particle Projector Cannon), and two heavy autocannons. Then I'd really kick some butt!" said Bumper.

"You know there aren't any Bots big enough for that. Not even the Grizzly Bear can hold that kind of weaponry," said Balto.

"Well, I'd modify my Bot to carry that. I'd be indestructible!"

"The only way your Bot could carry that is if you strip down some armour to make weight room for it, and then you'd be more vulnerable than before. The Grizzly is a nice Bot, but it could use a little extra armour."

"I agree with you completely, Balto. Maybe I could arrange a special upgrade for our Bots, since we are the leaders and the Elite pilots here, right?" said Bumper, hopefully.

"I doubt it. They'll just leave everything the way they are and send us into battle without any special upgrades or anything like that. I kind of feel upset that I can't carry some nice weapons on mine, but I'll just have to make do with what I have."

"Better to train with the defaults," said Kaltag, approaching from where his steaming Bot was parked," ... than to practice with a totally different setting and get caught in the middle of combat!"

"I agree. Have a cold one!" said Balto, tossing Kaltag a can of soda," It's the only good stuff they have around here anyway. I could go for some Gytou about now."

"I hear you there, boss," grinned Kaltag. He cracked open the can and took a long drink, then sat down in a chair next to Balto," So, how is your training coming along?"

"Good. I really enjoy these Bots. But if they don't let me in a fighter soon I am going to scream!"

"They can't take the chance we'll bolt with the info. They want to keep all of us here until we display the Bots on Canis next week. Until then we'll have to sit tight and stay loose. But don't worry, I hear we'll be the ones escorting the Drop Ships through space until we reach Canis. It'll be another long trip, longer than when we arrived, but at least it'll give us something to do."

"Yeah. I need to get back into my fighter and fly around for a bit."

"Snow Wolf and the new cruiser Promethius will be escorting, with twenty fighters, including ourselves. The brass want to keep it under wraps, and make anyone watching in think that it's just a security escort for a weapon's cache that we are delivering from our weapon's facility," continued Kaltag, leaning back in his chair and taking another drink.

"As if two heavily armed cruisers and twenty fighters won't be conspicuous, and scream,` We have a new secret weapon here!'," joked Bumper.

"Well it's being kept under wraps until we arrive on Canis. By then it will be too late for anyone who is planning on attacking us. We'll be safe on Canis and in position to defend it if anyone attacks. Which I doubt will happen until after many years and the Bots have rusted solid."
"Let's hope to take good care of them! They are worth protecting with our lives," said Balto.

"You know guys," began Bumper, looking up at the belly of the Bot above them," I have been wondering about... dying. In the air it seems so easy to recharge your shields and run for safety inside the hanger of your mothership. But in these Bots I feel unsafe... afraid. I know that if I am damaged and I try to run, I could take a fatal wound in my back and get killed. Unless I eject, but what if my chair jams, or it doesn't work? I'll be killed."

Balto and Kaltag nodded. Balto hummed as he thought of a way to reply to Bumper's epiphany. All his career, Balto had known that one well aimed laser blast or lucky missile shot could have killed him. But the shields on an A-Wing fighter could take almost anything. The Bots simply relied on their thick armour to protect them. But a battle drained Bot could not survive very long in a heavy battle area.

"It's a risk we all take, Bump," said Balto," I have accepted the possibility that I might not make it. The next battle could be our last, sure. But as long as you are able to fight then I think you should let fate run its course and take your life one day at a time."

"I never trust fate, Balto," commented Kaltag," Too many complications. I like to live my life one day at a time, but the way I want to. Not the way anyone may plan it for me."

"But what if that is the plan?" asked Bumper, leaning back in his chair.

Balto hummed once again. But their conversation was cut short as General Charlie approached. They stood and saluted. Although Charlie had no ties to the Navy, he was still the ranking officer between the four Canines.

"Alright. Next we'll have to run you through the Threat Obstacle Course," began Charlie," We're marking you on your ability to avoid laser fire and other weapons, while running through a course of pylons and other debris."

"Basically `Running the Gauntlet,' right sir?" asked Kaltag.

"Yes. You could say that. You'll be piloting Gray Wolf Bots for this run. Good luck."

As the General walked away towards a group of technicians, Bumper sighed. He tossed the technical manual onto his chair and kicked at the dirt," Man! Gray Wolves suck! They barely have any armour or weapons!"

"But they are fast and maneuverable. Think of the difference between a B-Wing fighter and an A-Wing. Lots of armour and weapons versus little armour and few weapons. Don't worry. They wouldn't pound us to the point of killing us," said Balto, putting am arm around Bumper's neck.

"Yeah. Don't worry about dying in a training run. It's the real battles that you have to worry about, Bumps," chuckled Kaltag.

"Alright, guys. Let's get this over with."

Admiral Doc had returned to his ship, the Nenana, in complete trust from the Lobo security that he was not to reveal the secret weapon to anyone. As the leader of the Canis Navy, he was a noteworthy fellow who had the respect of every Canine in the sector, except perhaps Governor Band. After seeing the Royal Canis Navy through many battles, Doc had earned himself the rank of Admiral and leader of the Navy.

Doc checked into his quarters and sat down at his desk. The computer screen flashed on and flickered to life, displaying a list of the tasks that had arrived in the past week. Doc read each one carefully and made notes of the most important ones. He yawned and prepared to go to bed, but not before making a quick log in his diary.

"Admiral Doc speaking. Week three of the weapon development has gone well. The trainees are perfecting their maneuvers and are almost ready for combat, should the need arise. We hope we have made a good decision in choosing these new weapons to defend Canis. Heaven help us if we are wrong. End log."

Doc's computer beeped in acknowledgment that the log recorder had stopped. Doc retired to his bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The door of Doc's quarters slid open slowly and quietly. A low whirring sound filled the room as Doc's personal droid helper entered. S-3PO had served Doc for many years, but in the past few months she had served a new master. Acting as a double agent for Governor Band, S-3PO had supplied the tyrant with many bits of valuable information regarding the planet Canis. 3PO had provided information that allowed Band to capture the Alpha Pair and use them as hostages while attacking Canis just three months earlier. Now Band had ordered her to keep in contact with him and supply him with the most top secret information in the Royal Canis Navy. Who better to steal information from than the leader of the RCN.

S-3PO plugged into Doc's computer and began to access his latest files and logs. As the terrabytes of information flew through her processor, she suddenly stopped and backtracked a few gigabytes to a log that had been made six hours earlier. In less than a second she had processed the entire log and made a copy of it in her main memory circuits. Then she leaned against the wall behind Doc's desk and shut down for the night.

Doc awoke to find his metallic friend "asleep" against the wall.

"S-3PO. Awake," said Doc.

Immediately the droid's eyes lit up and she turned her blue head towards her master.

"Good morning, sir. I trust you slept well?" she asked in her cheery protocol tone of voice.

"Well enough. It's hard to sleep under all this stress," replied Doc, rubbing his temples.

"Perhaps I could help, sir. What is bothering you?"

"I can't disclose that information. Sorry, 3PO, but it's of the utmost importance that nobody know about this. I will let you know, but by then all of Canis will be safe and everyone will know about it."

"Very well, sir," replied S-3PO, discouraged by her efforts to get information from the old Admiral.

"I'd like breakfast ready after my shower, 3PO," said Doc as he walked towards his bathroom.

"Of course, sir. The usual?"

"Yes, please."

On board Governor Band's flagship, Overlord, a secret message, encoded in multi-language encryption, arrived in the communications room. After decoding the message it was sent immediately to Governor Band. Band was in his mess room with Bitey. The two were discussing the current training of their pilots on the small planet below. The training had been going on for two weeks, and Band's pilots were getting quite good, but he wanted hardened pilots with perfect reflexes.

"What do you want?" demanded Band as the messenger arrived.

"Uh... sir... a message has arrived from the Mole on board the cruiser Nenana," said the officer.

"Let me see it," said Band, taking the datapad from the officer.

The officer bowed and left the room to perform other duties. After reading over the pad for several moments, Band dropped it down on the table and sat with his head on his hands. After sitting this way for another few moments Band stood up and walked across the room to a window. He looked down at the small blue planet below where his warriors were training.

"Bitey..." began Band.

"Sir?" replied Bitey.

"Apparently the Canines have some new weapon. Something their best pilots have been training for weeks to command. The information is very sketchy, but it suggests some new type of vehicle or space fighter. Why else would... Balto and his troops be training?" said Band, reluctant to speak the name he hated so much.

Bitey said nothing, but joined his master beside the window.

"Recall our pilots. We will move out at once and fulfill Feral's request to wipe out the weapon's facility. But first, let's have some fun on the way."

Bitey grinned, knowing what his master often meant by the word "fun."

Balto and his fellow pilots, along with thirty other pilots who had been training in the Bot Camp, sat inside a large auditorium inside the weapon's facility. The chatter could be heard as a loud murmur, with no single conversation audible. The entire throng quieted down as General Charlie and Admiral Doc appeared on the stage at the front of the auditorium and began speaking through a mic.

"BattleBot pilots. We are quite pleased with your performances in these past three weeks. it is time to reveal our weapons to Canis, and show the galaxy that we will not be bullied on the ground anymore. It's time for us Canies... us wolves, to prove once more that we are the fiercest fighters. Unmatched by anything on the ground."

A cheer arose from the crowd of pilots.

Admiral Doc took the podium and waved for the pilots to quiet down.

"So as not to arouse any suspicion," he began," We will escort all sixty of our first wave of Bots in three dropships to Canis. The escort will consist of the new Super Elite Defense Force, as well as two other squadrons of fighters. The cruisers Arctic and Snow Wolf will also escort as carrier and gun defense platforms. As you all know, the Arctic is our first cruiser to carry the new Ballistic Turbolasers."

"Not much of a subtle escort, eh Balto?" Kaltag nudged his friend.

"They don't want to take any chances, Kaltag," replied Balto.

"We'll have to take things slowly, since the dropships have no hyperdrive capabilities. Once we get within ten lightyears of the planet, we will rendezvous with three Heavy Cruisers and four Light Frigates. By then it will be too late for anyone to attack us, and our escort will be large enough to drive away a fleet of Star Destroyers."

Doc activated a large monitor that hung from the ceiling and a map of the system appeared, revealing several blue circles that lit up as Doc continued," We have heard reports that Band's fleet has moved into the system, so we will be on high alert in case he tries an attack on the convoy. It is essential that all dropships reach Canis intact. I will not tolerate any losses, so it is up to you to protect the ships with your lives. Their armour is tough, their guns are powerful, but they could never withstand a direct assault without an escort. I know you understand the importance of this mission."

A murmur grew from the crowd as the pilots discussed the situation amongst themselves. They quieted as the map disappeared.

"We will be leaving tomorrow. Get some sleep. You will all need it."

S-3PO walked through the open door and approached Doc's computer. Upon secret orders from Band she was to search Doc's hidden and encrypted files until she found out exactly what the new weapons were. He must have stored more information in his logs than what he had told her. Top secret or not, she knew him too well to just leave small notes like that lying around. She just had to dig deeper into his files and find out the secret of the new weapons.

As she plugged in, S-3PO thought she heard something behind her, but after turning up her audio sensors up to maximum she detected nothing. Turning back to the task at hand she began to hack through Doc's files and break into his high security files. She followed every lead that could possibly take her to more information, but found nothing. Then she came across a file that she had not noticed yet. She began to hack through it, and was almost done when suddenly a powerful electric shock zapped through her circuits and knocked her to the floor. It was one of Doc's many security features to prevent someone from accessing his hidden and secret files.

As the stunned droid began to stand, she came face to face with a G-22 assassin droid. It pointed its gun arm towards her blue head and buzzed in binary something in the way of," Move and you die."

Within minutes, six armed guards flooded into the room and deactivated the Mole. After carrying the droid to the maintenance area of the ship, S-3PO was signed up for a major overhaul, which included a full format of her memory circuits.

Band looked on from the bridge of the Overlord as his Trade Federation drop ships flew towards the planet below. A small settlement consisting of a few houses and larger structures had been detected, and Band decided to cause a little chaos on his way to Lobo and Canis. Soon his large winged ships were nothing but dots against the planet's green surface, and then disappeared.

"Link me up," he said, requesting a direct connection with the battle probe that was inside the main dropship.

"Link established," replied the tactical officer.

"Let's see how the troops are holding up," Band stared at the monitor in front of him as it flickered, and then cleared into an image of the inside of the ship.

Several Bots were standing ready to emerge and begin blowing the structures to bits. There was a sudden jarring, and several Bots shook on their feet, signaling that they had landed. Soon light flooded into the ship and the Bots began to move. The probe rotated towards the door and into the bright light. As the picture cleared, Band could see the settlement a few kilometers away, sitting in plain sight on a grassy plain.

Bots began to accelerate and pass the probe, but the small droid began to hover along with them, staying safely behind the armoured machines. Though the settlement had no weapons for defense against such an attack, Band did not doubt that some of the settlers would have small arms such as rifles and pistols, but nothing as big as blasters and missile launchers.

The attack began. As the Bots came into range they fired long-range missiles, and soon lasers, autocannons, and machine guns. It was complete carnage. Band could hear the explosions and screams of the people as the Bots stomped through their village. In a mater of ten minutes it was all over. The settlement had been flattened, and all those living had been captured by the second drop ship, which had been filled with Band's battle droids.

"A good test of their battle readiness, eh Bitey?" Band said pleased to his bodyguard.

Bitey, quite as always, just nodded.

"Boring boring boring," sighed Bumper.

He had been flying in his fighter for the past four hours, and was beginning to wish he still had the Long Howl. At least he could get up and stretch on the large transport, but now he had to sit crammed in his cockpit, sitting on his bushy tail, and wishing his knees didn't feel like Jell-O.

"Relax, Bumps," said Balto, understanding his friend's discomfort," We'll be relieved in another half hour. Then we get twenty minutes of relaxing before we go out again. It's still another five hours to Canis."

"Five hours?" cried another pilot," Man, my tail is gonna go numb and fall off by then!"

"Hey. We had our shift already. We're not due for another two hours, so take it easy," said one of his fellow pilots.

Balto looked out his cockpit window at the three huge dropships that floated in space just a bare two-hundred meters away. Even at that distance they still looked massive. Beside him was Steele and Star, and on the opposite side of the dropship was Bumper and Kaltag. More pilots from the other two squadrons surrounded the other two dropships at a similar distance. The Snow Wolf led the convoy, with the Arctic and Nenana following behind. The three cruisers flew in a tight triangle formation.

Just another five hours, thought Balto.

"Alright pilots. You are relieved. The calvary is here," said the flight officer on board the Nenana.

As the rest of the escort arrived, Balto smiled and relaxed inside his fighter. With the added ships and security, his flight was no longer needed, and could fly at full speed towards Canis, clearing the way for the ships. Once they arrived they were to land on the planet's surface and await the arrival of the ships. Then they were to take their positions inside a Bot to present themselves before the Alpha Pair, who were even themselves in the dark regarding the secret weapons.

Balto sighed again as he passed the group of frigates. He thought of his own ship, the Trawler. It had been seriously damaged during the battle with Band's fleet and had to be dismantled. But at least his father's ship had performed her duty and died with honour.

The Super Elite Squadron soon approached Canis, much to the delight of Bumper and the others. The convoy was due in another hour, so the team had time to clean up and take a quick nap before they arrived.

"Now she'll only send what we program into her," a white wolf engineer said to Admiral Doc.

"It's a damn shame she was the Mole. She was a good droid before Band got to her. I'm going to miss her," said Doc.

"Well we had to remove all of her old circuits, except the strange ones Band had installed in her. After that we programmed her to use her old software to contact whoever she had been calling these past few months. I'm afraid that some of the files we found included information regarding the flight of the Alpha Pair to Therma four months ago. She was responsible for their capture."

Doc sighed," Just take good care of her, okay?"

"Of course, sir. She'll be almost as good as new before you know it."

"Damn! I already know about those Ballistic Turbolasers!" screamed Band. The information about the new secret weapons was nothing new to him.

"Tell that junk heap to find something about their new weapon, not the old one. Sheesh! Do I have to do everything myself?"

Six hours later, Band received a new message," Well this is better. Not much of a weapon though. Cloaked space mines."

"Possibly," began Band's tactical advisor," ... to hide them from us until the last second when we collide with one."

"What can you do about that?" asked Band.

"It's fairly easy, sir. We arm the ship with sonic pulse generators that will diffuse the signal received by our sensors that give us a dummy image of blank space. Once the mines have overloaded enough they will shut down, and possibly not even explode."

"How long will it take you to refit my ships with these... pulse generators?"

"Well, we can have six built and armed is just under eight hours. Fitting them could take as long as four though."

"If you have it done in eight hours I will promote you to something more worth your skills," said Band, placing a paw on the officer's shoulder.

"I'll get my people on it right away, sir," replied the officer.

"Good. Remember, eight hours... Commander."

The officer grinned and then walked quickly to get started on the pulse generators. Band stepped into a turboshaft and rode it to the engineering section of his ship. Once there he was approached by the main engineer, who saluted and bowed.

"Sir?" said the engineer.

"We will be preparing to attack Canis soon, but I am concerned about their new turbolaser weapons. Is there any chance you can boost our engines to get us quickly through their blockade and into range for us to safely launch our dropships?" asked Band.

The engineer turned to one side and thought for a few moments, then turned back towards Band," I suppose it could be done, sir. But we'd have to strip off some armour plating, lose a few defensive guns. You know, try to lose some of the bulk off this baby."

"Are you insane? And leave my ship open for attack like that?" screamed Band, almost knocking the engineer to the floor. Other officers turned to see.

"Sir, if we move all of the Bots to this ship we'll be able to use it as a flying dropship. In ten hours I can mount several repulsorlift generators capable of keeping us aloft in the atmosphere for a short time, but long enough for you to launch your Bots to the surface."

"Sure. Get to work on it immediately. And start removing the extra components," said Band. He turned and left.

Balto stood at attention on the leg servo of his Bushwacker as the Alpha Pair strolled by. The leaders of Canis were certainly surprised at the new weapons, but highly favoured the idea. Balto followed them with his eyes, never moving the position of his head as the Alpha pair continued on down the row of thirty display Bots. The others from the dropships were being moved to the hangers that had been built for the new weapons.

Bumper leaned closer to Balto from his own Bot and called to his friend," Looks like we have made a good impression, eh?"

"Yeah. I just want to get this over with and get that vacation they promised us," replied Balto.

"We just got one. You'd think they wouldn't be so generous," chuckled Kaltag from his Bot on the second row of Bots which were across the street facing Balto and Bumper.

"We have really earned it this time," said Balto.

The Alpha Pair reached the end of the row of Bots, then entered a landspeeder and rode down the rows again. Balto stood at attention again as they passed, then got into his cockpit and followed the other Bots to the hanger. All except Bumper. His Light Bot was sent to the palace for a special assignment. Bumper climbed up Balto's Bushwacker and rode on the Bot's torso joint.

For immediate primary protection, four Heavy-Class Bots were stationed at the four corners of the palace. Each was armed with long-range missiles, long-range lasers, and heavy autocannons. Heavily modified to carry the load of weapons, they were sluggish, but were capable of stopping any incoming attackers. Balto the the others were to be first and second line defense in the event of an attack on the planet's surface. The battle lines were set up with Heavy and Assault-Class Bots as the first line, with Meduim-Classes following close behind, and Lights taking up the rear and cleaning up any survivors.

Battle tactics and maneuvers were once again run through over the next two days. The pilots learned and relearned battle moves, which were different with buildings and rough terrain to maneuver around... and use to their advantage. All was going smoothly until the Canis Ground Forces received a message one day from a colony on the far edge of the Lupus System.

"We are massing as many ships as we can to destroy you! How dare you attack us as a test of your new weapons," said a rather ticked off-looking Badger. The Lupus system was a sanctuary to many other races, including badgers, but this settlement had been attacked and destroyed," Prepare for war!"

"We don't know anything about this. Please explain what happened," replied General Charlie.

"You know damn well what happened! But if you must continue this stupidity I will humour you. These new weapons of yours, these Bots, attacked our village just three days ago. It has taken us, the few that survived, that time to fix our radio transmitter and contact our homeworld. You will answer for your treachery!"

"What are you talking about? None of our Bots were stolen, and they have been on Lobo since they were built. And no one else has any weapons like this. Are you sure it was us?"

"Yes. And then you and your stupid droids attacked and killed whoever you could find."

"Excuse me! Did you say droids? Like Battle Droids?" Charlie interrupted the badger.

"Yes. What about it?" asked the badger, folding his arms and looking sternly at the General.

"Sir. Let me assure you that it was not us. But somehow, Governor Band has acquired BattleBot technology. We did not attack you. He did. We will send ships immediately to assist you in any way possible. They will be unarmed. We will trust that you believe us and will not attack."

"We will not. But you had better be right about this, or we will send our forces in massive numbers and destroy your fleet!"

The badger cut off the transmission, leaving the General to chuckle to himself. The Badgers used outdated phaser weapons, which were too low powered to even damage the hulls of the Canine ships. But he'd let the badger amuse himself for the moment. Right now he had more things to worry about.

"Where could he get BattleBots?" exclaimed Admiral Doc.

"I don't know, sir. But he has already attacked a small village and killed most of the inhabitants. I have dispatched three supply cruisers there to assist them," replied General Charlie.

"Damn! With Band packing that much firepower, we'll be up for quite a fight. Let's hope our new turbolasers can keep them from getting close enough to land their dropships."

"Yes sir. I'll alert the troops and have the Alpha Pair on high security alert."

"Good. Meanwhile I'll deploy the fleet around the planet so that their ships cannot get through. I hope we are ready for what he is about to start. We are still recovering from his last assault."

"True," said Charlie, smiling a little," But now we are stronger and ready for him."

Doc nodded and left.

The Overlord and Behemoth entered the atmosphere of the planet Lobo and launched a small dropship. The Bulk Freighter carried four Heavy-Class Bots and one Assault Bot, more than enough, thought Band, to destroy the weapons facility. Taking part in someone else's revenge was something Band enjoyed, and he would enjoy destroying this facility. As soon as the ship landed, Band ordered his ships into hyperspace for Canis. They would pick up their attack force on their way back from decimating Canis.

"Sir, we have an incoming freighter," reported an officer. He stared at his read-out display, and then at the small speck on the horizon as it landed several kilometers away.

"What do you suppose it is? I wonder why they landed so far away?" asked the lead technician.

They got their answer. Soon after landing, the doors on the freighter opened and released the five Bots. They spread out and began stomping towards the facility.

"What the hell? Why are they back here?" asked the technician.

"Uh, sir. They aren't of any design we have created. They look like... some of Feral's original designs!" said another technician.

"Shoot! Get the pilots to their Bots. We need to defend the facility at all costs!"

An alarm went off, and Band's pilots laughed to themselves as they saw the Canines running around the base. Some took defensive stations at gun turrets, while others ran into the various buildings. The base's long range guns opened fire, but the low powered lasers practically bounced off the armour of the attacking Bots. The lead Bot fired his missiles and they soared towards the turrets. One exploded after the missiles impacted with it.

Just as the other Bots were coming into range of the base, a large door opened on the side of one of the large buildings that made up the complex. Six Medium-Class Bots stomped out and approached the attacking Bots at full speed. The seasoned pilots immediately chose targets and fired their missiles. Soon they opened up with lasers, and closed the gap between themselves and the attackers.

Band's pilots had never been trained against other Bots, and were soon overrun with the defending Bots. Many made missed shots, or turned to attack one Bot only to be shot in the back by another. Soon one of the Heavies was destroyed. Three medium Bots fired their autocannons at the Assault-Class Bot, succeeding in knocking it over. Then they fired missiles and lasers at it as it tried to stand. One leg was blown off, knocking it back to the ground again. The pilot scrambled out of the shattered cockpit and ran towards the freighter.

Taking advantage of the group of Bots, one of the Heavy Bots fired his Gauss Rifle at close range, sending the powerful shell straight through the left torso of one of the Mediums. It careened to one side and then collapsed, but not before the pilot ejected. Each side was taking a serious beating, but only the seasoned pilots of the Canis Weapons Facility were making serious damage and fatal wounds in the armour of the attacking Bots. Two more Heavy Bots were killed, then another Medium.

The two Heavy Bots realized they were outmatched by the four Medium Bots, and made a rush for the base, relying on their tough armour to protect them. But as soon as they got close to the base they were hit by a massive cannon that sent twenty shells through the main torso of one of the Heavy Bots, and the other soon followed its partner to the ground, flaming and belching black smoke.

"You are certain?" asked Admiral Doc. He sat with General Charlie on the planet's surface, reviewing tactics and defense of the main city.

"Yes sir. And the worst part is they are bigger and tougher than anything we have built. Their weapons weight less but do more damage. We have quite an opponent here, sir," replied the main technician. He had called Canis immediately after the attack was over.

"What made them thing they could attack and destroy you with such a small force?" asked Charlie.

"My guess is that Feral thinks we have still given up on his old designs, and would never in a million years build BattleBots. I think the Governor is in for a big surprise if he manages to land his Bots planetside."

"He'll have one heck of a run towards the planet. We've got our cruisers ready to intercept him, and our Ballistic Turbolasers will hold him at bay. This will be a very short battle."

"We should have heard from them by now," said Band, anxious to hear from his assault team.

"Transmitter damage?" said Bitey through clenched teeth. He knew that the Bots were not invincible, and could have been destroyed.

"Yes. Perhaps you are right. They are flimsy bits of equipment and perhaps it was damaged in the battle. How long until we reach Canis?" asked Band.

"Six minutes, sir," replied his navigator.

"Six minutes... and let the dying begin," scowled Band.

Balto and his fellow Lancemates were resting in the hanger when they got word to suit up and get ready to engage hostile forces. Band was in the sector, and possibly on his way to Canis. Balto stuck a picture of Jenna inside his instruments, right where he could keep his eyes on her while piloting his Bot. Perhaps she'd bring him some good luck?

"All Lance-leaders, report in," ordered the main Lance-leader, who was piloting an Assault-Class Omnivore Bot.

"Ricochet Lance, ready," reported Steele, who was in charge of the third Lance of Bots.

"Eridini Lance, ready," reported another pilot.

"Oberon Lance, ready," reported Balto.

"First Battalion ready," reported a fourth pilot.

The lines had been prepared and Bots were positioned all over the city, ready for attacks. Balto was about to check his weapon's systems when an air raid siren began screaming. Band had arrived.

"Sir! We have enemy ships entering the area in sector 2," reported a scanner officer.

"They're coming in awfully fast, sir," said the tactical officer.

"Prepare to fire once they are within range," said Doc, ready to begin engaging Band's fleet for the second time in the past four months.

Bright red streaks of turbolaser fire shot out towards the incoming battleships. Some missed, but a few hit. As the new Mon Calamari cruiser changed course for the battle area, Band's command ship soared at its new speed straight through the blockade, followed by the Behemoth. Fighters spewed from the hangers on board the Behemoth and the ship fired its cannons at the Canine ships, clearing a path through the fleet. Some smaller ships fell prey to its cannons, but the larger ships shrugged off the shots and returned fire.

"Now we'll see how well they absorb this," said Commander Morse, on board the Mon Cal Cruiser Arctic.

A bright silver beam of intense energy shot out as the Ballistic Turbolaser was fired in anger for the first time. The shot struck a direct hit on the Behemoth and blue sparks flew in all directions. The ship seemed to shudder in space, but continued on its way.

"Sir, the shields on the Behemoth are at seventy-five percent," reported the tactical officer on the Nenana.

"Packs quite a punch! Commander Morse, keep at it. The other cruiser is on its way and will pursue the Overlord," said Doc.

Another shot from the turbolaser reached out and struck the Behemoth. The lights on the massive battleship flickered and then died, but turned on again seconds later. The ship was dying. Smaller craft were closing in on the battered cruiser. Heavy fighter/bombers flew in and fired proton torpedoes at the ship as it tried to make its way back out of the blockade, but another shot from the Ballistic Turbolaser killed its engines, leaving it adrift.

Meanwhile, after punching through the blockade and escaping the wrath of the Mon Cal's new weapon, the Overlord entered the planet's atmosphere and soon hovered only two-thousand feet off the ground. It took only two minutes to launch the dropships containing the Bots. After that the Overlord returned to space to help the Behemoth, which by then was beyond help. Blindsiding the attacking Mon Calamari Cruiser, the Overlord opened fire with its powerful cannons and penetrated the tough shields. The Mon Cal began to smoke and made a quick turn towards the safety of the approaching ships.

The fighters from the Behemoth were overrunning the Canine ships once again, and the Canines had suffered many losses. Band monitored the battle status from the bridge of his command ship and grinned. All he needed was to take over the planet using his Bots and victory would be his.

"Star Commander," said a pilot to Bitey," I've got a strange reading here... wait... three more just appeared. There is a large group of defensive vehicles just over this hill."

"Kill them," ordered Bitey.

The Heavy-Bots stomped their way up the hill, preparing to lock their missile weapons on the enemy vehicles and destroy them quickly. As they came over the hill and the enemy came into view, many gasps and curses of surprise were uttered into the commlinks on Band's Bots. Standing there, a battle line formed against them, were BattleBots. Huge BattleBots. Before Band's forces could recover from the shock, missiles were fired from the Canine Bots and impacted on several of Band's forces. Finally the attackers recovered and returned fire. The battle began.

"Let's take the fight to them!" cried Star 2 leader," Charge!"

The group of Medium Bots, led by Star 2, charged down the hill at breakneck speed, launching missiles and shooting lasers and autocannons at the line of Heavy and Assault-Class Bots. The Heavies were relentless in their pounding, constantly firing heavy autocannons and large lasers at the advancing Bots. Several Medium Bots were destroyed, but the Canine Bots were only slightly damaged.

"Attack!" ordered Bitey.

He led the attack as his one-hundred and twenty ton Assault Mech stormed down the hill, followed closely by Band's remaining thirty Bots. Bitey fired his specialty weapon, a beam cannon that could penetrate a Heavy Bot's armour. An Assault Bot was hit right in the center torso, and fell to the ground. Before it could get up it was hit several times by other Bots and soon exploded.

Band's forces crashed through the first line and began stomping towards the city, twisting their torso's and firing at the defending Bots. Missiles, lasers, and autocannon blasts flew everywhere. It was complete chaos. Bitey thought he was clear of the line and turned his Bot towards the coordinates of the palace, when suddenly his missile alarm went off. He turned to his right to see another line of Bots, Medium-Class, advancing on him. Bitey fired his beam cannon and destroyed one with a single shot, but the other Bots kept coming, firing their ER Lasers and autocannons. Bitey checked his damage display. Most of his Bot was still blue in the read-out, but his left arm and torso had turned bright green. He was damaged.

Balto watched as the massive Bot fired and destroyed Lance 4. He locked on once more with his LRM (Long-Range Missiles) 10 launcher and fired. The cluster of five missiles struck the Assault Bot, but barely slowed it down. It was fast for an Assault Bot, and Balto knew that they would have to stop it.

Suddenly another large Bot stomped by. It was a Grizzly Bear, piloted by Steele.

"I'll handle him. You guys hold them here!" called Steele.

Balto respected Steele's skill at piloting and ignored the huge Bot. He turned his Bot towards the main battle and ordered his Bots in. He was soon in the middle of the fray, firing his missiles whenever he had a clear shot and blasting smaller Bots with his autocannon and lasers. He could hear reports coming from the third line that three Bots had been destroyed by two massive Bots, and Balto hoped that Bumper was okay. A Light Bot turned towards Balto and before he could react fired a round of SRM's (Short-Range Missiles) at Balto. His Bot was hit in the leg and toppled to the ground.

"Dammit! Get up!" shouted Balto as he frantically punched his "Get Up" button. The Bot's leg joints groaned as he slowly rose from his fall," That's it!" grumbled Balto. he armed his autocannon and fed five rounds into the Light. It exploded, and Balto continued through the fighting.

On the third line, Bumper's eyes widened as he saw the approaching Bots. There were three extremely large Bots, and three smaller ones. They must have broken through the first lines. He and his Company of Light Bots would have to hold them back until larger Bots could arrive to help.

A Bot on his right was struck by missiles and a powerful cannon from the largest of the Bots, and exploded. Luckily the pilot had ejected and was safely floating to the ground. Bumper shook away his fear and began firing the small weapons on his Bot. His SRM racks flared to life as he launched volleys of missiles at the larger Bots, unafraid of them. His Lancemates followed suit, their size and speed allowing them to run circles around the larger Bots.

Bumper found himself behind the large Bot and turned his torso upwards for a perfect SRM shot at the Bot's weak rear armour. He fired and watched as his missiles streaked up and struck the Bot. The armour barely burned black. Bumper winced as the Bot turned on him and charged its large cannon. Just then, a loud cracking sound erupted and a sonic beam flew towards the Bot and struck it dead on. The shot, fired from a Gauss Rifle, blew clear the arm that held the deadly Beam Cannon. It was Steele in his Heavy Bot.

"Looks you little guys could use a hand?" chuckled Steele as he fired a powerful LRM into the back of another Bot, knocking it to the ground. It was soon torn to pieces by the Light Bots.

"Good to see you, sir," exclaimed Bumper," Thanks for the save."

"We're not out of this yet. Now get moving!"

Steele made his point clear by firing an ER Laser at the huge Bot and following up with a round of autocannon ammunition.

"So! We meet again, Steele!" called Bitey from his Bot, hacking into the Canine's communications," Only one of us will walk away from this encounter, and since I have the better Bot I will be that one!"

"Don't count on it, One-Arm!" taunted Steele.

The two were soon locked in combat, each one gaining the upper hand over the other, only to lose it seconds later.

"I've lost my right arm! Arrgghh!" cried a pilot as his Bot exploded.

The Medium-Class Bots were getting killed in the fury that erupted just a bare three kilometers from the city. Balto had leg damage and had lost the arm containing his autocannon, but his LRM ammo and lasers were still holding strong.

"Oberon Lance!" called Balto," Fall back to Nav Point Baker. We'll make a longe-range attack against these guys."

"Copy, Lance Leader," replied Star, inside Oberon 6.

The group of Medium Bots stomped away from combat unseen as the Heavy and Assault Bots mixed it up with Band's forces.

"Sometimes the best tactic is to run away," Balto said," Lock LRM's and fire at will!"

Balto's computer beeped as he acquired a lock on a Heavy Bot and fired a round of LRM's. They hit it in the arm and blew it clean off, just as the pilot was about to fire a Gauss round at a damaged Medium Bot. The others in Balto's Lance followed suit, firing until their weapons were dry, then they switched to ER Lasers and began chopping the enemy Bots to pieces.

Soon it was almost over. Several of Band's Bots were limping away, others were polished off by the Canine Bots. When the last of Band's forces had been destroyed, Balto scanned the wreckage and counted the dead Bots.

"I count twenty-three. More must have broken off than we thought," said Balto," All units split up. Seek and destroy those enemy Bots."

Meanwhile in space, the Overlord was still holding itself well against the Canine vessels. The second Mon Cal Cruiser had attacked and scored a single hit, but the skilled gunners of the Overlord had disabled the massive guns, forcing the cruiser to use its standard turbolasers. The Canine pilots were mostly new recruits that had been training for the past week or so, and only a few seasoned pilots were actually flying. The Droid Fighters were making good progress against the rookies, and even a few Canine Aces had been killed. Nevertheless, Band was concerned.

"Sir, the Behemoth is requesting assistance," reported Band's tactical officer.

"Dispatch a squadron to assist. We're having a hard enough time holding our own here," replied Band.

His Bots had been fighting below for the past twenty minutes, and Band was at his wit's end. The fool, Feral, had tricked band into believing that the Canines had no BattleBot technology, when at this very moment his own Bots were toe to toe with the best of the Canine Ground Forces. He would make Feral pay dearly for this... if he lived long enough to exact his revenge.

"Has Force Group 3 reached their goal, yet?"

"Not yet, sir. They've run into some problems," replied Band's mission officer.

"What kind of problems?" asked Band.

"Big ones."

The platoon of assault-class Battle Droids and Droidekas scanned the distance once more. The palace was within their grasp, if only the four Heavy Bots guarding the palace would leave. There was no chance of them destroying the Bots. They would need a decoy.

As the droid officer began giving orders, a loud explosion shook the ground. One of the Heavy Bots was hit hard and stumbled. The droids turned their heads and saw three Heavy Bots attacking from the east.

"There's our diversion," said the officer," Move out!"

The black battle droids began to move across the field as the Heavy Bot guards left their posts to attack the incoming Bots. The droids slowly made their way along the outer wall of the palace, creeping towards the main gate. Soon they reached it, and after a well-placed detonator they succeeded in blasting through the wall. The only defense was a group of guards who stood in front of the door. The droids opened fire and soon killed them all. The droidekas skittered across the courtyard on their spider-like legs. They reached the main armoured door of the palace, the only thing that kept Band from once more capturing the Alpha Pair and having a pair of hostages that would guarantee him the entire Lupus System.

The droids planted another charge and blew the armour away from the door. They waited until the smoke cleared before entering. The droid officer checked the hallway before waving his arm, signaling his troops that all was clear. All thirty droids crowded into the hallway and formed five rows six. A lethal firing line that would cut down any guards or defensive systems.

Suddenly, a loud crunching noise perked the droids. They stood ready to attack, listening for the sound again. It happened... a dull thump, then another. Rapid thumping. Then a Light Bot appeared from around a corner, just a bare forty feet from the Battle Droids. It turned its head towards the droids, and its pair of arms turned and pointed towards them. The pilot inside accessed the situation and selected his group of six machine guns.

"Die, droids!" he grinned.

A deafening sound erupted as each of the machine guns fired upon the droids. The droids fired back with their blaster rifles, but the low powered beams just bounced off the armour of the Bot. The first line fell. The second line was made of four droidekas and two battle droids. The droidekas were protected by their shield, while their companions were cut down by the barrage of flying lead. Then the Bot fired a medium laser, which penetrated the shields and destroyed the droidekas.

The Bot kept firing its machine guns. The droid officer realized how trapped they were and ordered a retreat. They ran out of the hole in the door and scrambled for bits of cover. Some droids stayed behind to cover the escape, but they were soon destroyed by the guns of the Bot. The Bot stopped firing. Smoke puffed out of the red hot barrels and the pilot ran a coolant flush of his weapons to prevent them from overheating. He wound wait and see if the droids tried another attack. In the meantime he called palace security and had the Alpha Pair's Special Guards deployed to deal with the remaining droids.

"Sir. They're in the palace," reported Band's mission officer.

"Yes!" shouted Band," Soon I will own the Lupus System!"

"Sir! I just lost BT one... two... three and four are gone now," exclaimed the mission officer.

"Lost? What do you mean lost?" asked Band.

"Destroyed. We just lost Droideka's one through four. BT's seven through thirteen. Something is massacring our droids, sir."

Band stood still on his bridge and looked out through his view screen. His ship was on fire, the Behemoth could not last much longer, and his Bots had been defeated. Now, his only chance of capturing the Alpha Pair was being wiped out. There wasn't much choice. Band ordered the retreat.

"I'll be back," he swore as the Overlord entered hyperspace.

The Behemoth's engines were dead, and the ship remained floating in space until it was destroyed by cruisers and torpedoes fired by the Canine fighters. Band's droid fighters were overwhelmed and eventually destroyed. But the battle below was far from over.

Steele checked his damage display once more. Left arm gone, heavy damage to his right torso and legs, LRM's down to thirty missiles. And he was just barely wearing Bitey's Bot down. Bitey had lost an arm, his weapons were failing, and his radar was going fuzzy. Steele didn't know it, but Bitey's Bot was close to death... and it was something Bitey realized.

I won't be defeated by this scum, thought Bitey.

As a last resort, Bitey fired an Alpha Strike. All of his remaining weapons launched towards Steele's Bot and collided with his center torso. Steele's Bot lost control and fell on its face. Steele was at Bitey's mercy. Steele pounded his "Get Up" button, but his gyro's were frozen and he couldn't move.

"I win!" taunted Bitey as he prepared to fire the kill shot into Steele's damaged Bot. The Alpha Strike had caused a heat warning, and since Steele wasn't going anywhere Bitey decided to wait to cool off first.

"Not today!" came a voice through the commlink. It was Bumper.

The Light Bot stormed towards the huge Assault Bot, and, despite missing both arms and heavily damaged, fired its missiles and a single small laser. They all collided with Bitey's right leg, blowing it clear off the Assault Bot.

"No! I can't lose this way!" screamed Bitey as his Bot toppled to the ground. His cockpit glass shattered and Bitey was cut severely by the shards that poured down onto him. Scrambling to escape his Bot in case the engine exploded, Bitey pushed himself out through the hole in his cockpit and out into the battlefield. Grabbing a blaster and his Force Pike, Bitey prepared to fight his way to the drop ship landing area. He would be rescued soon.

Steele had managed to get his Bot upright and turned this way and that, searching for his quarry.

"Now where did that guy go?" asked Steele, not even bothering to thank Bumper for saving his life.

Steele began to stomp around the area, searching for the white furred samoyed. He wanted to bring Bitey in himself. Steele squinted and searched the wreckage, but could see nothing. Bitey was keeping low and hiding behind debris as he moved around the battle zone. The ground was shaking with the impact of Steele's legs, and Bitey felt off-balance. He decided to make a dash for the shell of a destroyed Bot, but tripped on a cable that was protruding from the ground. Rolling onto his back and looking up, Bitey saw Steele's Bot just a bare ten feet away. The massive leg raised the fifteen ton foot into the air and began to drop it onto Bitey.

"Agghhhhhh!" screamed Bitey.

The leg stomped downwards with a sickening crunch, squashing the samoyed like an insect.

"Forget him, sir," said Bumper," There's still things to do."

"I'm all out, kid. I took a good beating there," replied Steele," Go give them some hell for me!"

Bumper saluted inside his cockpit and turned his Bot full speed towards the smoke of battle that bellowed up from the palace.

"They're heading down Front Street," reported Balto, who was following the remaining pair of Heavy Bots through the empty city streets.
The Heavies were seriously outnumbered, but they were still fighting. Every now and then they'd fire into the buildings, destroying or damaging them. They had already squashed two of the city's Light Bots, but Balto's group of Medium Bushwackers were closing in, and Balto was trying to route extra power from his power core to his lasers. He needed quick recharges now that his big autocannon was missing. He had six LRM's left and didn't want to waste them.

The closest heavy Bot suddenly stopped and twisted its torso down an alley. A Light Bot had been waiting for them and suddenly opened fire with its SRM's and laser cannons. Balto knew that another pilot was at the mercy of these big brutes and decided to fire his missiles and lasers. Just then, another Heavy Bot arrived and towered over Balto. Turning to see that it was a friendly Bot, Balto watched as the Heavy's AC Autocannon ripped a wide hole in the side of the attacking Heavy Bot. The wounded Bot turned towards its attacker and fired a large laser, searing the center torso. The Canine Heavy fired again with its autocannon, leaving a gaping hole in the right torso. Flames shot from the Heavy Bot as the pilot ejected. The Bot exploded, sending out a shock wave that enveloped Balto's Bot.

Already severely damaged, the heat and force of the blast overloaded Balto's curcuits.

"I'm ejecting!" shouted Balto.

He pulled the eject lever and held onto his seat restraints as the cockpit blew off and the seat rockets fired. He was thrown up into the air and escaped the destruction of his Bot. The Heavy Bot behind him took little damage from the explosion, and continued its pursuit of the remaining Heavy Bot.

Balto's parachute opened, and as Balto landed on the top of a building he reported that he had ejected safely and was holding position. He could see two Light Bots nearby, perching on the roof of a nearby building. The chatter of pilots was still coming through his headset, so Balto watched and listened.

"Gray Wolves One and Two reporting. We're tracking the Bot, sir," reported the pilot in Gray Wolf 1.

"I'm moving to the intercept area. Leg damage is slowing me down. You'll have to be the bait," reported the Lance Leader. He was piloting a Long Tom; a Bot that was strictly a missile platform with a few medium lasers. A lethal Heavy Bot.

"Roger, sir," reported Gray Wolf 2.

The Light Bots, equipped with jump jets, vaulted off the building and locked onto the Heavy Bot with their SRM's.

"Locked! Fire!"

The small missiles launched out and struck the Heavy in the back. Slightly annoyed at the small threat, the Heavy turned on them and fired its PPC. Gray Wolf 2 exploded. The explosion collided with Gray Wolf 1, causing her leg to seize up.

Lance Leader was in position, but his targeting computer was nothing but static," Come on! Come on!" he said, pounding his computer screen.

"Any time now, sir!" exclaimed Gray Wolf 1, attempting to limp away from the Heavy as it prepared to fire its PPC once more.

Finally the computer came to life and immediately locked on," That's it!"

Lance Leader already had his two launchers linked, and fired immediately. Twenty missiles shot forth and flew screaming towards the Heavy. Just one second before the Heavy's pilot pulled his trigger he was struck in the head by several missiles. The other missiles collided with other parts of his Bot's body, blowing off an arm. The Bot's servos groaned as it collapsed to the street, defeated.

"Mission objectives accomplished. Everyone report to the palace immediately," ordered Lance Leader.

It was finally over.

Balto stood alongside his fellow pilots, dirty but uninjured. The Canines had lost a total of twenty-two Bots, and eight pilots. Forty-six troops had died in the battle, as well as two of the palace's elite guards. In space, the fleet had two damaged Mon Cal cruisers, three frigates lost, and five corvettes that would never again see battle. It was a small loss compared to the previous battle with Band, but still, a loss is a loss.

The damage was extensive, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. It was only stone and mortar, but the lives that were lost could never be replaced. In the following week, the pilots were buried in a grand ceremony. A twenty-one autocannon salute paid tribute to the brave pilots who had paid the ultimate price so that all of Canis could live free.

But the threat was hardly gone. Band had been defeated, but would return. The Canines bet on that. He had lost another of his three battleships, and his Bot forces had been decimated, but he was resourceful. Band would return with new allies, stronger forces, and give the Canines another battle to fight. But until that day, the Canines can live in the security that they have the best army and the best navy and the best pilots to defend them from evil.

As Balto stood beside the last Medium Bot in his group and stared out at the sunset, he thought of Jenna and how she had fared through the battle. He would be home with her soon and then he could relax, until he was called upon again. For now the battles were over, and Balto just wanted to go home and be with his wife. He turned and slowly walked away from the funeral.

"It's not over yet," he said.

The End

Balto, Jenna, Steele, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Doc
©1995 Universal Studios

Bumper & Rina
©1999 DeeRock

Tricksy
©1998 Yvie Schroeder

Mechs, Autocannon, PPC, LRM, SRM, large lasers, and all other BattleTech material
©1999 FASA Corporation
MechWarrior 3 is ©1999 Microprose, Zipper Interactive, Microsoft

This story is based loosely on the BattleTech series of books and the MechWarrior series of computer games. Although the names have been changed to protect myself, I would like to avoid any copyright fines. All BattleTech equipment, locations, and storyline related material mentioned in this work of fiction is copyrighted to FASA Corporation.

GLOSSARY of TERMS

BattleMech: A huge robotic war machine that was developed in the 25th Century. These humanoid battle machines bristle with lethal weapons.

Dropship: A large vessel capable of crrying up to twenty BattleMechs. These armoured vehicles are usually dropped from low orbit and use their jet engines to gently fall to the surface. Each dropship is armed with several high-power laser cannons.

Bushwacker: A medium class 'Mech; 55 tons. Inner Sphere (the good guys). Very power and versatile, capable of taking out larger 'Mechs. Stands on two legs with torso-twist ability.

Vulture: A Clan heavy-class 'Mech. It is mainly a missile platform, carrying a pair of LRM 20's and several low-powered laser cannons.

Mad Cat: The deadliest Clan 'Mech. The Mad Cat carries various types of long, medium, and short-range weapons, making it a formidable opponent.

Puma: Clan light 'Mech. The Puma is small and fast, but is armed with dual ER PPC's and a flamer, allowing it to do massive damage against enemy targets.

Jump Jets: 'Mechs equipped with jump jets are able to use their limited rocket power to make short jumping flights over or across terrain obstacles.

Lasers: Lasers are direct-energy weapons capable of cutting through 'Mech armour. There are three sizes of lasers: small, medium, and large.

Particle Projector Cannon (PPC): A PPC fires high-energy proton or ion bolts that can severely damage its target.

Gauss (sounds like house) Rifle: This weapon uses magnetic rail gun technology to fire a slug at very high speeds over very long distances.

Autocannons: Utilizing a fast-loading, near-continuous fire mechanism, autocannons fire high-velocity, armour penetrating rounds over great distances.

Machine Guns: These light autocannons are capable of delivering a high number of low caliber rounds in a very short period of time. The individual damage is not high, but if the target can be kept in the stream of bullets, significant damage can be done.

Long Range Missiles (LRM's): Long range missile launchers fire missiles that have limited tracking capability. They are accurate, but lack turning capabilities and so do not have the pinpoint precision of Streak Missiles.

Short Range Missiles (SRM's): These direct-trajectory missiles are more powerful than long range missiles, but only accurate at short range. The Streak variant has a smart targeting system that prevents it from being fired unless it is locked on and almost guaranteed to hit.