Zoids Concept Art
This book is a continuation of the Concept Art trilogy, and branches off as a different title. A lot of the aesthetics have gone back to Books I and II and many of the more refined Zoids have been lost. There are also fewer new developments in design and fewer profiles at the back of the book. The tastes in naming is questionable at best and some of the concepts are repetetive but chances are if you enjoyed the other books you'll like this one just as well.
Title: ---
Release Date: August 31st, 2013
ISBN: 978-4-7986-0648-4 C0076
- Chapter 1 Departure
Prologue
I am an observer. My ancestors and I have been recording the history of this planet on which we live, called "Planet Zoid."
After the long war concluded, peace finally returned to the planet. But several years later, the United Federal Government confronted a grave situation.
The last great war had left the entire planet scarred by the ravages of war. Furthermore, the war had left supplies of "Zoidnium" nearly exhausted. This resource was not only indispensible to modern human society, but it was also an essential element of life for Zoids.
To save the lives of endangered Zoids, the Federal Government hurried completion of the "ZNA System" which preserves Zoid Cores and improves functions by enabling the replacement of worn out components with improved versions.
To secure new energy sources, the Federal Government also proceeded with the construction of a large exploration ship, "Whale Kaiser," based on a whale-type Zoid but utilizing the auxiliary propulsion system from the GIII starship that had flown from Earth many years earlier.
For exploration of energy sources, so called "ZNA Zoids," rebuilt using the new ZNA System, were deployed, taking advantage of their great adaptability to any environment.
With completion of Whale Kaiser, multiple exploration teams were formed and started to board. One of the teams was the "ZZ Trapper Squad" which included young Bowie, the son of a hero killed in the last great war.
Bearing a heavy responsibility for the fate of the planet Zoid and for the people's hope for the future, Whale Kaiser finally started on its exploratory voyage.
Whale Kaiser took off into space heading for a destination of 5,000,000 km away.
- Chapter 2 Contact
After several weeks, Whale Kaiser reached its destination, the planet "Desert Shore."
Soon after Whale Kaiser landed in the desert, the ZZ Trapper Squad and other exploration teams began to search for energy resources.
Bowie and the other ZZ Trapper Squad members diligently investigated the endless, desolate terrain and confirmed signs of existing energy resources.
The ZZ Trapper Squad also found an unexpected object protruding from the sand. It was a fragment of a mechanical life form similar to a Zoid. It was beyond all expectations to find such a life form on the planet.
One day, while exploring for energy resources, the ZZ Trapper Suad encountered a living life form. After capturing and analyzing it in detail, they got a surprising result: Like Zoids, they detected nano-machines from the Zoic-Noa in the tissue of the mechanical life form. Based on this, they decided to call the mechanical life form on the plant "Native Zoids."
The ZZ Trapper Squad finally found a vein of "Deathnium," an alternative energy resource to Zoidnium. But their pleasure was short-lived, when suddenly winged-type Zoids swooped down upon them. To their astonishment, the Native Zoids had human pilots. Why do Zoids and humans exist on this planet? The mystery only deepened as time went on.
The attackers of the ZZ Trapper Squad introduced themselves as the "White Tribe." They had thought Bowie and the others were plunderers of Deathnium but Bowie's group explained their situation and negotiated a provision of Deathnium. But then, "Dark Forces" raided to plunder Deathnium.
The Dark Forces had coveted the Deathnium vein of the White Tribe and had repeatedly raided their territory. This time Bowie's group cooperated with the White Tribe and repelled the Dark Forces.
Gaining the trust of the White Tribe, Bowie's group was invited to their commune in a mountainous region. The White Tribe lived there in a way which minimized the consumption of the precious energy resource Deathnium, relying instead mainly on wind power generated by large wind turbines to support their basic way of life.
After striking up a friendship with young Ziggy of the White Tribe, Bowie was led to the deepest point of the commune. Surprisingly, there he was shown the enshrined engine of the Zoic-Noa. The people of Desert Shore were descendants of the Zoic-Noa crew which had crash landed on the planet just like the people of the Planet Zoid. Similarly, the Native Zoids had uniquely evolved from the primitive metal life forms on the planet which had combined with the nano-machines loaded into Zoic-Noa.
- Chapter 3 Dark Forces
While the friendship between Bowie's group and the White Tribe solidified, a detachment of the ZZ Trapper Squad encountered the "Green Tribe" in one of the few forest regions which existed on Desert Shore. Their commune also had its own Deathnium vein but they conserved it through the effective use of geothermal energy.
Another detachment met with the "Blue Tribe" during their investigation of a subterranean lake. Their commune in that region also conserved their use of Deathnium through the high utilization of hydro power. The White, Green, and Blue Tribes had survived in the harsh environment of the planet through mutual cooperation in times of need.
The Dark Forces were an army organized by the "Black Tribe" who had never coexisted with other peoples. The origin of the Black Tribe was a group of the Zoic-Noa crew which discovered a Deathnium deposit and a ruin of alien culture called "Death Oasis." They took the ruin as their base and formed a commune based on a unique dogma. Now, the Dark Forces had commenced a great project under their new leader's command.
The Dark Forces' main Zoids were "Dark Zoids," born of a dark composite of Deathnium. "Die Saurer," the progenitor of Dark Zoids, was enshrined in the underground temple of Death Oasis. Soldiers of the Dark Forces prayed for success of the "Death Babel Project," led by their new military and spiritual leader.
The new leader was none other than Demon, the scientist who led the awakening of Death Saurer in the last great war of planet Zoid. In Demon's laboratory, Johnnie, the Gojulas pilot who had fought in mortal combat with Death Saurer, was kept in a life-support capsule.
The White, Green, and Blue tribes formed an alliance to counter the Dark Forces who attacked them relentlessly to plunder Deathnium. Bowie and other ZZ Trapper Squad members joined the Allied Forces at the request of Ziggy.
The Dark Forces intended to take control of all the Deathnium of Desert Shore in order to implement the Death Babel Project. To achieve this goal, all the Dark Forces' legions launched a military campaign.
The White Tribe and Bowie's team cooperated in intercepting the Dark Forces' invasion of the commune in the mountainous region in an attempt to plunder its Deathnium vein.
In the wooded region, the Green Tribe and ZZ Trapper Squad presented a united front against the approaching Dark Forces.
In the underground lake, the Blue Tribe and ZZ Trapper Squad joined efforts in a fierce fight with underwater Dark Zoids.
The Allied Forces fought back desperately against ferocious attacks by an ex-imperial pilot and feared and valiant general in the last great war, Karl Kong, and his Dark Zoid "Vikong."
Though the Allied Forces found themselves in tight spots, their knowledge of the geographical features gave them an advantage and they started a counterattack with the cooperation of ground and air troops.
The situation reversed itself in one stroke and the Dark Forces were forced to retreat.
The Allied Forces were excited at their victory and swore to strengthen their unity against future invasions by the Dark Forces.
Soon after the struggle of the Allied Forces and the Dark Forces concluded, elders of the White, Green, and Blue Tribes had a secret meeting with Demon, unbeknownst to Bowie and the ZZ Trapper Squad members.
- Chapter 4 Seizure
The ZZ Trapper Squad got to work mining a new Deathnium vein with consent of each commune.
At the same time the main units of the Allied Forces guarding Whale Kaiser suddenly rebelled and detained the crew and were soon joined by a platoon from the Dark Forces to take over Whale Kaiser. One of the perpetrators was Ziggy who had developed a friendship with Bowie.
Though disturbed by Ziggy's sudden betrayal, Bowie tried to retake Whale Kaiser with the ZZ Trapper Squad but Whale Kaiser broke away from Bowie and his team and took off into space.
In an effort to recover Whale Kaiser and find out the motives of Ziggy and his cohorts, Bowie and his team set off in a general-purpose transport called "Hearts Crab" to follow the trail.
Whale Kaiser's destination was soon discovered to be the planet Zoid, though Bowie had no idea what Ziggy's group, allied with the Dark Forces, intended to do on Zoid.
Whale Kaiser landed on the dried up Lake of Liquid Metal on a frontier of the planet Zoid. This was the place where Death Saurer had once awakened and where the bow of Zoic-Noa had crashed. Its remains were still lying there.
The purpose of Ziggy and his group's actions was the recovery of the navigation system from the bow of Zoic-Noa. They intended to restore the engine component they had kept and install the navigation system. But the Trap Commandos guarding the frontier rushed to the site and a battle over Zoic-Noa began.
The pursuing Bowie and his group learned of the real intentions of Ziggy's group in the maelstrom of combot. Demon had told his followers of the existence of the navigation system which would be needed if they were ever to take off from the harsh environment of Desert Shore to a new world. That was why Ziggy and the others resorted to violence. But in the middle of the struggle, Ziggy and his comrades were shocked to learn that the navigation system they sought had disappeared when Death Saurer had awakened.
Meanwhile, the shadow of a new object arriving from Desert Shore appeared in the northernmost sky. It was Demon's mobile fortress, the "Dark Palace," and it descended slowly to the northernmost solitary island.
Landing on the solitary island, the Dark Palace salvaged a huge and ominous metallic object which had lain dormant deep under the thick ice. It was the wreckage of Death Saurer, destroyed in the last great war.
Understanding the motivations for the violent actions of Ziggy's group, Bowie forgave them. Then, after learning the details of the Death Babel Project from some captured Dark Forces soldiers, he and Ziggy knew they must thwart it so they boarded Whale Kaiser to return to Desert Shore.
- Chapter 5 Decisive Battle
Bowie and the others returned to Desert Shore only to find a pitiful sight. The Deathnium vein which the White Tribe had protected had been completely plundered by the Dark Forces, and their comrades of ZZ Trapper Squad who had remained to guard the miners were seriously wounded.
The Green and Blue Tribes had also had their Deathnium veins mined bare and their communes wrecked in reads by the Dark Forces. It had been Demon's scheme all along to deceive Ziggy and the others with the story of the existence of Zoic-Noa's bow, leading the main units of the Allied Forces away to the planet Zoid, leaving Demon's followers to plunder the Deathnium without trouble.
Returning to Death Oasis, Demon used the vast amounts of plundered Deathnium to create dark composite which he applied to Die Saurer in order to resurrect Death Saurer.
Johnnie, the former Gojulas pilot, was in the cockpit of Death Saurer. He was the only one who could control Death Saurer since he and the Zoids shared the same nano-machines in their bodies. But he had completely lost his memory and now deserved as Demon's puppet.
A ZZ Trapper Squad pterosaur-type Zoid which had been damaged in the battle with the Dark Forces, underwent fusion evolution with Bowie's Zoids using the ZNA system to restore its body and reinforce its military capability.
A ZZ Trapper Squad sabertooth-type Zoid and a Native Zoid of the Green Tribe both seriously wounded in the battle, underwent ZNA fusion evolution as well.
The Allied Forces reorganized for the anticipated decisive battle, and strengthened the equipment of each ZZ Trapper Squad Zoid.
To avenge their commune brothers and prevent the Death Babel Project, ZZ Trapper Squad and the Allied Forces started an advance on Death Oasis.
The Dark Forces fought with all their might to repulse the approaching Allied Forces, and the great struggle began.
In the middle of the fierce battle, the revived Death Saurer appeared in all its majesty.
Next, the Dark Palace came flying above the battleground and began to assimilate Death Saurer. At last, the final stage of the Death Babel Project was underway.
The objective of the Death Babel Project was to destroy the core of the planet Zoid, and through the vast energy produced in the destruction, open a transcendental space-time gate to anywhere in the universe. And now, the condensed plasma photon energy stored in Death Saurer's body began to charge the Death Babel Cannon with power capable of destroying a planet.
To prevent the Death Babel Cannon from firing, the Allied Forces made an all-out attack against the Dark Palace, but Death Saurer fought back with its charged particle cannon and drove them into an indefensible position.
Realizing that his home, planet Zoid, was about to be destroyed, Karl Kong switched sides, joining with the Allied Forces and rushing at the Dark Palace with his Vikong.
Karl Kong accepted the ultimate sacrifice in his battle with the Dark Palace, finally initiating the self-destruction of Vikong.
The shock of Vikong's self-destruction jolted Johnnie, who was controlling Death Saurer, bringing back his memory.
Realizing that he had been manipulated by Demon, Johnnie ripped Death Saurer off the Dark Palace as if releasing himself from a spell.
To destroy the Dark Palace, Death Saurer charged all remaining energy to the charged particle cannon and prepared to fire.
Death Saurer fired on the Dark palace and simultaneously Bowie and the Allied Forces attacked from the ground and the air.
The Dark Palace was hard hit, and Demon evacuated with a dragon-type Dark Zoid. But the countdown for the firing of the Death Babel Cannnon continued even though nobod was at the controls and much of its power had been depleted.
The Dark Palace exploded apart firing the Death Babel Cannon as its last gasp. At that moment, Death Saurer placed itself between the cannon and Bowie and the others, bearing the blast of the discharged beam, which otherwise would have certainly killed them.
With that terrible battle, the Death Battle Project was prevented. It was only then that Bowie learned that the Death Saurer pilot who had sacrificed himself to protect him and the others was his own father, Johnnie, thought to be dead in the last great war.
Utilizing the knowledge taught by Ziggy to harness natural energy instead of Deathnium, Bowie and the others were able to power the relaunch of Whale Kaiser and open up a new future for the planet Zoid.
