“What?! You can’t be serious?!” Panic overcame her. She knew Jack meant business, he was not the sort of person to mess around with when it came to zoid battles. He already had a reputation for being one of the best.

“Orisha, stay calm. Remember what Orixas told you.”

She managed to snap out of her fear, regaining her confidence and focus. She narrowed her eyes, aiming at her quarry. “Alright, Sisco! You’re mine!” With her target locked, she fired her shock cannon in short equal bursts of energy, the powerful mecha underneath her moving with each blast. The Saix moved fluidly over the landscape in a zigzag motion, dodging her line of fire, narrowly being missed by each shot.

“Come on! Come on!” Orisha grind her teeth in frustration as she kept missing him with each shot. Just when she thought she had him, she didn’t. It was as if he was toying with her. She looked at her readings. “My energy levels are dropping fast. That’s not a good sign.” Orisha could feel the adrenaline rush coursing through her and seeing his Saix disappear from view terrified her immensely.

“Where the heck did he go?” It kept every ounce of her well being to keep herself from going into hysterics.

Suddenly, from the ridge’s edge, Jack’s zoid leaped out of no where, over head Orisha’s zoid. “STRIKE! LASER! CLAW!”

Orisha fanatical pulled back the controls, her zoid leaping out of harm’s way, barely missing the Saix’s claws. The Stealth Wolf slid along the ground for a short distance, the Saix standing where it was moments before, making nasty indentions on the dry desert soil. The experience rattled Orisha’s nerves for a while for Jack could hear her breathing heavily over the battle net.

“Not bad. Are you ok?”

It took her a few moments to catch her breath but she managed to answer him. “Yeah, I’m cool.” She was surprised he asked in the first place. Showing concern for someone on the opposition team was unlike him. “Why did you ask?”

“Because I want to disable your zoid, not you.”

Orisha laughed. “Well, thanks for caring but...usitake ushindani huniwezi aslani.

Jack shook his head. “Ori, you know I don’t understand that ancient language of yours.” It was a language descended from her ancestors who first came to planet Zi thousands of years ago, a language so old, its origin long since forgotten. Even the translator software in his zoid wouldn’t be able to decipher it.

Orisha grinned. “It means: ‘Don’t compete with me, you can never beat me.’”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Her demeanor quickly changed. “And this is where it all ends for you, Sisco.”

She turned the control to aim her beam gun but nothing happened. “What the…” She worked the controls for all her weapons and checked her system readings. The data display shocked her. “Oh, no! Severe energy drain. I can’t work anything dealing with weaponry.” Letting out a sound of frustration, Orisha groaned and covered her face with gloved hands. “Oh, god! This can’t be happening to me!”

She heard Jack’s snicker over the battle net. “Oh, shut up! That wasn’t funny!” She snarled at him. Her brown face flushed red with embarrassment.

“Hmf. I don’t know about you but I was amused.” He stated to her. “Now, why don’t you sit there like a good girl and let me end this battle.”

“Are you crazy?” She spat out angrily. “You expect me to sit here like a clay pigeon and just shoot me?!”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. Besides, you have no choice.”

“Say what?!” Orisha growled at him Leena-style. “I swear Jack Sisco, you have a lot of nerve. You haven’t changed  not one bit since the first time I met you two years ago, still as cocky and arrogant as ever!”

“Why, thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment!” she hollered at him.

“So, I made it into one, now…” aiming his laser rifle at her. “Don’t take this ass whoopin’ personal, its just business.”

“I can’t believe you would forsake our friendship over some prize money! Of all the rotten, low down, dirty…”

“Well, you should know me by now.”

Panic overtook her, again. She had to do something or else, she was a sitting duck. She pouted at him and said in a small child like voice. “You’re really not going to shoot me, are you?”

Jack made a sound of disgust and frowned. “Hmf. Do you expect me to fall for your ‘feel sorry for me’ routine? That trick may work on your dad and your brothers but its not gonna work on me.”

Orisha snorted and rolled her eyes at him, realizing her plan had failed. “Fine! I don’t need your pity, anyway!” A wicked smile soon appeared on her pretty face as she thought of another plan. “At least I tried to go easy on you. Now, I have no choice but to play dirty!”

“Uh? What the hell is she babbling about? Aaarrghh!” Jack was blinded by a bright light emitted from her zoid, as if it was reflected light off a mirror. “Damn!” He held up his gloved hand, managing to shield his eyes.

Orisha’s zoid ran pass him. “Later, sucker! Ha ha! Catch me if you can!”

“Jack, she’s been hanging around you too much. She’s starting to think like you.”

“What do you think this is, some kind of game?” Jack growled at her. “So, its like that, huh?“ He smirked to himself. “If it’s a chase you want, than a chase you shall have.”