- 5: The Traitorous Gatling Fox


 The Empire has rolled out a state-of-the-art Zoid, the Gatling Fox. With advanced optical camouflage, the fox is used to bring down key bases in Republican territory, but something's wrong. The Fox is frequently losing control, and even going so far as to attack its own Zoids. With this development, Byrne is forced to make a difficult decision. Will he choose his career in the Empire, just as he's about to get a promotion, or will he choose to save the Fox, who is dying under the pressure?

- Characters

Featured Characters:
Buzz Cunningham
Jo Aysel
Leo Conrad
Sally Land 		Byrne Blood
Knox 		---

Featured Zoids:
Beast Liger
Raptoria 		Gatling Fox Catalga (Republic Spec.)
Knuckle Kong (Empire Spec.) AA
Raptor (Empire Spec.) PR
Raptoria (Republic Spec.)
Raptoria (Republic Spec.) AA
Triceradogos (Republic Spec.)


- Notable Facts

  • Byrne's name is a bit complicated. There's been many different iterations used by fans. Ban, Van, Baan, Byrne, Bryne. This is further complicated by the official anime site, which used Bryne for the spelling in the URL. This doesn't really line up with the kana spelling (バーン). That kana, however, is the spelling for the name Byrne in Japan, which seems to be what they were going for. We used Blood as a surname because of it historically being rendered that way in Zoids.

     This issue became a little more complicated when the Hong Kong dub started using the spelling Bryne Brad. Though we acknowledge that this is an official dub, it also seems to have other questionable translations (Herrick instead of Helic). This may be a reference to the URL, which often aren't written by fluent English speakers. We notice this with the in-series glyphs as well, which seem to be machine translated.

     Since our site tends to err towards the JP names, we'll be going with Byrne Blood for our spellings. This has gotten longwinded, but I wanted to clarify the changes to visitors. Please note that this may not be a correct spelling depending on your preferred source media, and doesn't match the HK dub. This is a conscious choice based on the character's actual kana spelling. Brad is a fine choice as well for the surname, but I'm going with the recommendations received from someone who speaks fluent Japanese, with there already being multiple characters named Brad in the franchise.

  • Byrne is noted to have gone through intense training to pilot the Gatling Fox.

  • It's noted that recently rolled out Zoids rarely fight the Z-O Visor.

  • Before Fox went out of control, Byrne was up for a promotion. They wanted to form a special task force centered around the Gatling Fox, with Byrne as its commander.

  • The transport unit that Byrne attacked was the 18th Transport Unit.

  • After Buzz, Leo, and Sally had to abandon their ship to escape Imperial Territory, Colonel Dias gifted them a new one.

  • The Empire is noted to have an amazing Zoid Development Program.

  • The Zoid Operate Visor (Zoid Control Visor in the HK Dub) manipulates the mind and movements of a Zoid, forcing it to follow every single command that is given to it by the pilot. This technology is used predominantly by the Empire, and thought to be necessary because Zoids running out of control could cause problems. Most Imperial Soldiers don't seem to think about the greater consequences.

     If, however, a Zoid fights the visor to regain their free will, it can be severely damaging to the Zoid. By the time Fox started acting out, Bowman noted that the beat of its core was already considerably weaker than it should be. The fox was suffering, and if the visor was not removed immediately, its core would fail, and the Zoid would certainly die.

  • Byrne established his relationship with the Gatling Fox by choosing to let the Zoid carry out its own free will. It was the fox's decision, not Byrne's, to fight the Empire and save Leo and his friends. He adhered to this decision even at the cost of his career, and becoming a fugitive. He also allowed the fox to choose where they would be headed next.

    • - Zoid Profile: Gatling Fox



    Fox-Type Zoid
     Equipped with Optical Camouflage that makes its body look transparent.

     Onboard Weapons:
      A-Z Infinity Gatling
      Double Buster Rifle

      Speed: 9    Attack: 7    IQ: 10    Stamina: 7    Defense: 8    Wild Blast: 7

      Gatling Fox. A fox-type Zoid with an Optical Camouflage system. The Optical Camouflage system is a feature that makes its body look transparent so it melts into its surroundings. It can conceal itself. What's more, this even makes it hard to find with night-vision scopes and radar, so it can easily sneak into enemy bases. When it uses its Evo Blast, its gatling and Double Buster Rifles deploy forwards. After it sets its sights on something, its gatling rotates at high speed, firing bullets rapidly. Its maximum firing speed is said to reach 100 shots per second, enough to turn enemies into Swiss cheese. Nobody can catch the Gatling Fox!

    - Screen Glyphs



    - Screenshots