In the garage there were a pair of audible POOFS as the catapult fired and the truck shot down the ramp at breakneck speed, clearing the exit and the ramp in a matter of seconds. Meltdown blinked a few times in awe, since he’d never seen a launch like that before in his life.
     “Well, that was.... interesting,” he commented, walking back to his office. “Sure hope the retro boosters work properly.” He added as he pressed a button just inside the door, which began the process of resetting the catapult, closing the garage, and retracting the launch ramp. He whistled a tune as the door closed, shutting out daylight and sealing out whatever was outside.

     In the car itself there was a cacophony of screaming, shouting, and cursing from the pressures exerted during the launch.
     “Where’s the airsickness repositories?!” Tenal wailed as he was pushed far back into his seat.
     “The what?!” Jessica asked, barely able to turn her head due to the incredible force.
     “The barf bags!!” Zell and Tenal responded in unison, both turning several shades of green.
     “If you guys honk in the truck you’ll be cleaning it up when we get back to Garden,” Boomer cried as she clung to the steering wheel for dear life.
     “Forget making it to Garden,” Anessa cried as she struggled to move further back in the truck, “they’ll be cleaning it up as soon as we hit the ground!”
     “Ground?! Land?! LANDING!!” Boomer exclaimed, remembering that they were being hurled a couple of miles away from Garden, which was about 300 meters in the air to begin with. More screaming and incoherent shouting filled the air as she grabbed the gear shifter and flicked back the top, a shining red button marked ‘retro’ in friendly golden letters rising out of it. This she pressed, and the force of the boosters kicking in to slow their forward momentum snapped all of them forward in their seats.
     “I need a barf bag,” Jess moaned, turning green.
     “I think I need to change my shorts,” Zell commented.
     “SPEW!” the others cried in unison. Tenal inched away from Zell.
     “You stain it, you pay for the cleaning!” Boomer shouted. “And cleaning the upholstery in this thing won’t be cheap!”
     She changed her tone of voice a moment later when she turned to Jess. “How are we doing for decent rate?”
     “Looking good,” Jess replied, her eyes covered by a set of VR goggles. “We’re holding steady and right on... hang on a moment...”
     Several glowing shapes suddenly appeared outside the radius of the shield, and a couple of these crashed against the shield, shaking the truck. A loud groaning filled the air as the thrusters fought to compensate for the course changes and shifts in weight.
     “If anything happens to the truck my dad will totally go critical mass,” Boomer said, a hint of panic in her voice. “They don’t call him meltdown for nothing.”
     The back of the truck dimmed as several screens slid out of the ceiling, which opened to drop a periscope and reveal the weapons controls. Anessa and Tenal manned the data screens as Zell and Selphie took over the scope and weapons.
     “Positive ID on meta class phantoms,” Anessa said, “Wingapede and mothra types.”
     “Weapons lock confirmed,” Selphie said, “port side, vector mark 4 by 7 by 21.”
     “Locking and loading,” Zell said, punching buttons on the joystick pad. Cross hairs formed on the screen in front of him, and these lined up with the phantoms and changed color. “FIRE!”
     The truck rocked violently for a moment before righting itself. There was a flash of light, an inhuman scream, and a small explosion as one of the phantoms exploded. The truck rocked a few more times before a warning alarm activated.
     “Hell,” Boomer said under her breath when she found the problem, “Shield strength is down to 40%. Thrusters aren’t going to work if we take any more hits like that last one.”
     “They’re regrouping for another strike,” Anessa said, a hint of panic in her voice.
     “Zell, use the weasel array,” Jess said as she punched up a new set of weapon protocols.
     “Weasel array? You didn’t tell us that this truck was equipped with a missile barrage system!” Selphie whined.
     “Time until combined strike by those phantoms is approximately twenty seconds,” Anessa said from her console. “Whatever you’re going to do had better be done quickly.”
     The image on Zell’s screen flicked around to where all the phantoms were grouping for their strike. A loud whirring filled the truck as the exterior underwent an amazing transformation. Twin gattling cannons and multiple missile pods rose out of the roof, the twin plasma cannons sliding down the sides of the truck to act as bracers. The weapon array spread out for maximum carnage.
     “Weapon lock confirmed,” Selphie stated as several glowing orange icons formed over the phantoms on Zell’s screen. These icons turned a couple of times before coming together and turning green to complete the lock.
     “Weasel array... total assault!!” Zell cried as he pressed the firing button.
     The missile pods belched forth missile after missile, all of the warheads screaming through the air on similar trajectories. The gattling cannons added to the confusion by tearing up the sky with plenty of cannon shells. The large group of phantoms didn’t stand a chance, and those that tried to flee met a quick and explosive end.
     “Did we get them?” Tenal asked, breaking the deafening silence that had filled their vehicle.
     “Nothing on the scanners,” Anessa reported.
     “All looks quiet on all sides,” Jessica added. “Looks like that weasel array came in handy.”
     “You can thank me for asking dad to install that new toy,” Boomer chuckled, “one can never have enough firepower, and there’s no such thing as too many missiles. And never blow up tomorrow what you can blow up today!”
     The other occupants of the truck released a combined sigh / groan for Boomer’s new motto.
     “Truck 01 has been sighted and confirmed,” Anessa reported after a short silence. “Time until we join them will be less than ten seconds.”
     This is your copilot speaking. We thank you for flying Boomer and Balamb airlines,” Jess chuckled, “please return your seats and tray tables to their upright and locked positions, extinguish all smoking materials, and prepare for landing. On behalf of our flight attendants and staff we hope you enjoyed your flight and we hope you’ll fly with us in the future.”
     By the time Jessica had finished her speech they had landed next to Truck 01 and the weapons array was retracting to allow exit from the vehicle. Selphie bounced out and immediately fell to her knees to kiss the ground.
     “Looks like you had a fairly eventful flight in,” Squall said, standing up from where he was leaning against the first truck.
     “You don’t know the half of it,” Jess said as she stepped out of the second truck, “everything and its mother wanted a piece of us.”
     “At least you made it here in one piece,” Kirinis said as she slid off of the hood, “we thought you guys got lost somewhere in transit.”
     “Be thankful you weren’t the guinea pigs for dad’s new catapult,” Boomer sighed as she slid out of the driver's seat. “I swore we’d need barf bags from that flight.”
     “Nice to see you, dear sister,” a male voice said from the far side of the truck. “I thought dad wouldn’t allow you to leave garden.”
     Boomer went red in the face from annoyance. “Spark, you had better show yourself so that I can mega kick your ass!”
     From the far side of the truck stepped a young man about Squall’s height with short reddish blond hair like Boomer’s. He wore dark glasses, which were a one piece visor instead of cats-eye style like his sister’s. He was dressed in a black T-shirt, tight black cargo slacks, black combat boots, and an orange vest with the Balamb crest on the left breast.
     “Spark, when I get my hands on you you’re so gonna pay!” Boomer screamed as she dove at her brother, who turned tail and ran from his very angry sister. Several plasma bombs sailed through the air, all detonating a short distance from the trucks.
     “O.K. you two, save the sibling rivalry for later,” Rinoa said as she stepped out of the first truck. “Time is of the essence in our mission. You can blow each other up later!”
     Spark stopped a short distance away, and he found himself flying through the air as a plasma bomb exploded behind him. He performed a very elegant face plant a short distance away as Boomer tore around the corner, a large plasma bomb in hand. “Prepare to meet the next time zone!” she shouted, preparing to lob her spell at Spark, who was in the process of brushing his clothes off.
     “Ten HUT!” Squall shouted in his commander’s voice. Boomer stopped in mid motion, the plasma bomb sailing off far to the left of everyone and everything before touching down and exploding. Her glasses slid down on her nose, revealing the shock in her eyes when she knew that Squall meant business.
     “I think he’s angry,” Anessa whispered to Tenal, who nodded.
     “Boomer, Spark, for the remainder of the mission you are to be on your best behavior,” Squall continued, “Do I make myself abundantly clear?!”
     “Yes sir!” brother and sister said in unison, saluting Squall.
     “Very good. Now man your vehicles. We head out ASAP!”
     SeeDs and drivers piled back into the trucks, strapped in, and waited. After a couple of uncomfortable moments Reyark’s image blinked onto their screens.
     “Tactical reports that you’re clear to head in,” he said, “Good luck, all of you.” He saluted before the transmission ended.
     “Let’s move it people!” Spark said as he pumped the accelerator on Truck 01, the engine revving loudly.
     “Two worlds need our help, and we’re not going to let anyone down!” Boomer cheered as she revved the engine on her truck.