Zoalords
Chapter 1
The Council
This particular meeting of The Zoalord Council was both joyous and a cause of dissension. Joyous because of the revelation that Lord Waferdanos' Zoacrystal had been returned to him, and he was once again a true Zoalord. The dissension was due to the fact that the Council was still short four Zoalords. 13 Zoalords were required for the fulfillment of Archanfel's plan, and they numbered only 9, including Archanfel himself. The Zoalords were stretched thin, some ruling entire continents. Some areas, such as Australia, had no Zoalord 'protector' at all, merely a CHRONOS agent to maintain order.
They needed new blood.
"Dr. Nighthawk is a brilliant woman, there is no doubt of that," Lord Barcus stated, "But at the moment we need fighters. With the exception of you, Lords Caerleon, Waferdanos and de Galenos, we are all scientists with relatively limited combat ability or experience. We need Zoalords who possess intelligence, strength and the capability to kill. I do not believe that Dr. Nighthawk is capable of taking lives."
Lord Czyvek sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, Barcus was right, of course. But still, how the Hell were they going to find four Zoalords in short order?
"What about Ali bin Jamar?" Lord Tuatha de Galenos' powerful voice filled the chamber, "He has run our Middle Eastern operations with both wisdom and, when necessary, force."
"An excellent suggestion, brother," Lord Amniculus' voice was soft, but the man held great power. "He has proven himself many times."
"I fear that I cannot be much help," Lord Nguyen humbly pointed out, "I only recently became a Zoalord myself. I am unfit to make any judgement until I can learn more about the prospective Zoalords. What do you know of this man, Lord Czyvek." Zoalord Mikhail Czyvek, as head of CHRONOS Intelligence, was probably more familiar with the sector heads than their own overseers. "He is an honest and honorable man. His assignment was extremely difficult, we all know the state of affairs in the Middle East before CHRONOS rose to power. Still, I cannot, and should not, tell you who to vote for or against. I will give you a full briefing on all candidates raised by this assembly once the meeting is over."
"Nothing need be decided today." Lord Amniculus said, "These are major decisions which must be handled with utmost care. We cannot afford another Guyot or Khan slipping through the cracks."
"I nominate Johnatan Vorsted," Lord Barcus stated, "Head of the Moscow branch of CHRONOS. He is both a scientist and a superb fighter. He would be a great asset to us as a Zoalord."
"I agree." Lord Czyvek replied, and the room fell silent.
"Y-you agree with me?" Barcus was genuinely surprised. He had expected the eccentric Zoalord to block any suggestions he made, due to their long-standing feud.
"He is a capable soldier, administrator and scientist. His loyalty to CHRONOS is beyond question. He is one of the best possible candidates for the position." Czyvek stated matter-of-factly. Apparently his loyalty to CHRONOS overruled any personal enmity with Barcus. The scientist had to give the boy credit for that. He might be insane and sentimental, but his loyalty was almost fanatical.
"Any other suggestions?" Lord Amniculus asked.
There were none.
"Is there any other business we need to address before this meeting is adjourned?" Lord Amniculus asked.
"Yes," Lord Czyvek replied, "One small matter. I wish to excavate the remains of the base at Mount Minakami in hopes of finding more fragments of the Unit Remover for use in Dr. Nighthawk and her team's work in developing a Unit Remover Type Zoanoid. I also request, formally, that Dr. Barcus allow Dr. Shirai to aid us. If he is not engaged in something truly vital, that is."
"But Dr. Shirai died when Mount Minakami was destroyed." Lord Caerleon pointed out. Lord Mirabilis smiled and Dr. Barcus shook his head. "No, he survived. He was badly injured, and parts of his body have been replaced by cybernetics, but he lives."
"How could he have survived . . . ?" Amniculus, "The entire base was destroyed in a volcanic eruption . . ."
"He was carried out by a certain. . ." His eyes flickered toward Czyvek, " Agent. His knowledge was deemed too valuable to allow him to die. Only Archanfel, Mirabilis, Czyvek and myself knew of this." He paused for a moment, a look of sadness crossed his face, "And Lord Purgstall, of course. We did not intend to deceive anyone. We just felt the knowledge too unimportant to discuss before the Council." Barcus paused thoughtfully, "Have you considered researching how Makashima was able to 'steal' the Fukamachi boy's armor?"
"We have. Unfortunately, one would have to be a Guyver to steal another Guyver's powers."
"Perhaps we can find a way to imitate the process that allows the Unit Remover to 'shut down' a Guyver?" Lord Nguyen interjected, "If it is something like an energy wave or sonic frequency, we would merely need to find the proper signal."
"And blast them with the signal!" Czyvek could not hide his enthusiasm.
"Wait a moment. If you knew Shirai was alive," de Galenos asked, "Then why have you waited so long to use him on your team?"
"He was severely injured, and he needed the time to recover." Czyvek explained, "The doctors treating him informed me that he is now able to return to limited duties. Nothing too strenuous, of course. We just want to know what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. We don't want to tax him too much, physically or mentally." This last remark seemed odd considering Czyvek's own tenuous mental state.
"If you wish to explore Mount Minakami, do so. How you use your troops is your business. You may recover something useful. But I must warn you that you are likely to be dissapointed."
"If a man tries, he may fail, but if a man does not try, he has already failed." Lord Tuatha de Galenos observed.
To be continued . . .
Current Zoalords in my universe:
1. Sin Rubeo Amniculus - North America
2. Archanfel
3. Hamilcar Barcus
4. Edward Caerleon - Britain/Eastern Europe/Mongolia/Central Asia (ceded Khan's territory in Asia)
5. Mikhail Czyvek - Japan (Figurehead, Mirabilis actually runs Japan)
6. Tuatha de Galenos - Africa/Middle East (ceded Hayyarn's territory in the Middle East)
7. Imakarum Mirabilis - North America/Japan/Northwest Asia/ (ceded Purgstall's territories in Asia)
8. Tran Nguyen - Southeast Asia/India (ceded Krumeggnicc's territory)
9. Waferdanos - South/Central America
Griselda obviously does not count.