The horizon filled with the wavy illusion of water. Each foot step cracked the dry, brittle clay beneath the red hot paws of our steaming metallic Zoids.

Unlike the original PAC-Wolves, these versions weren't brand new. They were used--blasted with the Particle Charger and hardened after they had already taken some beatings in action. That concerned me, but it bothered Sifen even more. He was a scientist even more that a soldier.

I just wished they had cup-holders.

The duracrete structures steadily grew larger as our row of ruby red, black and silver Command Wolves approached it with an eerie determination in their empty stares.

We reached the walled entrance as the sun reached its apex in the Zi sky. The thirty-meter tall gate doors looked almost red. Sunrays of 130-degrees can do that to metal.

The gate guard had more of a look of anger towards us about having made him exit his air conditioned bunker than a look of concern about seeing four Republic Zoids arrive at his base. He aimed his anti-Zoid rifle at my cockpit and attempted to speak with strength, bit it quickly became gaspy.

"State your…your purpose here."

I opened the cockpit hatch of PAC-1 and the rush of heat felt like a punch to my lungs. "Experimental Zoid…transfer by order of…Major…Major Erem Nevets." I handed the guard the electronic documents Nevets had given me and tried my hardest to not look nervous. Luckily, sweating was reasonable at the moment. If Nevets had betrayed me I swore that I'd go back and let PAC-1 rip him apart.

The imperial soldier studied the documents and shook his head. I prepared to close the hatch and run. "I don't know…what the major has…in mind to do out at…this frying pan, but…he better come do it quick."

"Why is that?" I asked as I took back the forged documents.

"You don't know?" he looked at me suspiciously. "This place is…going to be converted…into an ammo depot…for some super-Zoid…in a couple of days. They won't let…any other Zoids stay here…after that."

I had to bite my cheek to keep my jaw from dropping.

"Now, if you'll…excuse me…I'm frying my…ass off in this…sunlight." With that, he went back into his little bunker. Moments later, the gates groaned and shrieked, then slowly creaked open.

The PAC-Wolf Unit filed into the Imperial Southern Scientific Outpost, and although I enjoyed the air-conditioning in my Zoid's cockpit again, I was uncomfortable. I wanted to share with my friends the news that I had just learned, but I couldn't risk having our transmissions intercepted.

The ISSO was almost barren. There were no Zoids to be seen. The base consisted of only a few small bunkers, a large bunker and an enormous hangar. Around the base was wrapped a rather decrepit wall that was falling in upon itself in multiple locations. Mounted around the wall were a few heavy turret cannons, but most of them looked so dusted and rusty that I would bet against their abilities to function.

A sudden wave of panic hit me: I had no idea where to park the PAC-Wolves! I had just miraculously smuggled a unit of Helic Republic Command Wolves onto a Guylos Empire base, and didn't have any idea about what to do with them!

My saving grace came when a small hangar door opened and a Molga squirmed out. The image of the Molga's driver popped up onto my Zoid's HUD.

"Wheredaya think you's goin'? he asked.

"Umm…I'm trying to find a place to conduct upgrade experiments on Major Nevets' Zoids." I replied. Saying that the Wolves were the property of that scum-ball sent shivers throughout my nervous system.

"All Zoids is parked in the main hanger. I thought everybody knew that! Hurry up and follow me!" The gate guard was easy to get by, and this guy was even easier. So far the soldiers at this base hadn't impressed me too much. Maybe we'd be okay here after all.

We trotted the PAC-Wolves into the hangar, and were both amazed and repulsed by what we saw.

The hangar was stock full of Zoids, but very few were in complete condition. Bodies, legs, heads and tails of almost every type of Zoid imaginable were spread out along shelves, hooks and conveyor belts that were nearly a half-kilometer long.

But it wasn't a Zoid graveyard.

These parts were kept in perfect condition, perhaps so they could be used as replacement—no—as upgrade or modification parts for Zoids…like the Stone Dragon.

But where were the weapons?

The bunkers. The weapons had to be in the bunkers. There, they could be heavily protected.

The Molga lead us to a clear area by some complete Republic Zoids. There were Cannon Tortoises, Shield Ligers and even a partially stripped down Liger Zero.

"Your Republic-style Zoids should be okay over here—for a little while—but I'm not promisin' nuthin'. " The Molga driver spit into a cup he had in a…cup-holder! His Molga had cup-holders! "You'll find visitor rooms in the bunkers, but you gotta be outta here by tamarra." He spit again.

I risked asking why.

"Haven't ya been told?" he sighed, then spoke quietly, "I'm not supposed ta know this, but I heard that the Stone Dragon is cummin' to get fit up in the mornin'. That's why they're getting' rid of all the 'Non-Essential' personnel. Anyone who ain't supposed ta be here is gonna get shot. Plain and simple. So, there ya have it. I'm getting' out, and you should to." He smiled and spoke loudly again. "Enjoy your stay!"

The Molga slithered away as Kavid, Sifen, Mansod and I climbed out of our Zoids. We huddled up by the feet of PAC-1. I filled them in on everything that I had been told.

Kavid squirmed in the Imperial Lieutenant Uniform he was wearing. "I'll bet you everything I have that Nevets sent us here because he knew it was the Dragon's new playpen."

"No bet." Whined Mansod. "What are we gonna do?"

I could see Sifen's eyes locked on the Shield Ligers. "Got an idea, old friend?" I asked him. Sifen walked over to a Liger and I followed. Kavid and Mansod started digging through parts dumpsters.

"I made a quick scan of these six Ligers as we came in. Five of them still contain their shield units."

I knew how Sifen's mind worked. "Are you serious? You can't put a Shield Liger's shield unit into a Command Wolf!"

"Actually there's plenty of room in the cargo holds."

"What about all the cargo we're carrying?"

"We'll have to dump it. The benefits outweigh the cost." Ugh. Sifen was almost always right. So much for sleeping on my portable mattress.

"Well, Sifen, it would give us an advantage against the Stone Dragon. How can I say no?"

"No way!"

"Calm down, Lieutenant Deen!" I quietly ordered.

"Oh, so now we're getting all formal again, eh, 'Captain Kelt'? I thought we abandoned that crap a long time ago."

I pointed to my Imperial uniform. "Not while we're wearing these clothes, buddy."

Kavid rolled his eyes. "Look, we're less than two days away from certain death, and you want to let Sifen weaken our already useless Zoids?"

My friend's tone concerned me. "Sifen is trying to make our Zoids stronger, Kavid."

"If the Stone Dragon is as powerful as Katrana says it is, do you think some little shields units will do any good?"

"They couldn't hurt." I sighed.

Kavid's eyes seemed to grow red from my response. "You do remember how much power it takes to keep a shield unit on, don't you?"

"Yes." He had a point.

"We wouldn't even be able to shoot our weapons while they were activated. Command Wolves just don't have the energy for it."

Kavid turned around to look at PAC-2. "We told Nevets to get us access into a place where we could find a Charged Particle Gun, not Shield Liger parts. If you want to beat this damn Rock Lizard, we better get start doing what we set out to do. Sooner or later the authorities are gonna wonder what we're doing over here."

I thought in silence for a moment. "Look, let Sifen and Mansod work. Just because we have a shield unit doesn't mean we have to use it--but at least we'll have the option." Kavid grunted.

"C'mon, let's go try to find a CPG." I ushered.

"We can't attach that to a Command Wolf." Kavid said with a sneer.

"We could always try."

To our relief, we found an underground tunnel that lead to the weapons bunker from the parts hangar. It was so small, though, that very few Zoids could have fit through it. It was obviously designed to keep Zoids out. Transport trucks hooked with long trailers sat at both ends of the tunnel.

As Kavid and I approached the bunker, it occurred to us that there was only a skeleton crew left at the ISSO outpost. If a full crew had been assigned to the base, we'd never have gotten as far as we had. A few guards noticed us from a distance, but seemed too busy with loading and un-loading duties to check whether we should have been there or not.

The weapons bunker was about one-fifth the size of the parts hangar, but packed three-times as dense. There was nowhere to move. Every footstep was a tight squeeze between Zoid cannons and missiles stacked upon the ground. Enormous claws dangled from chains hooked to fifty-meter long railings, giving the entire layout the appearance of some obscenely over-sized children's game.

Kavid turned to me with a shared look of frustration on his face. "We can't even get five meters into this place. How are we supposed to find anything?"

"Perhaps I can help."

I whipped around in shock. Kavid had already drawn his blaster.

Behind me stood one of the last people I ever expected to see in the Imperial Southern Scientific Outpost: The Killer Dome pilot Kavid freed a week ago.

He was alone, in full uniform, with his gun holstered. Despite a strong five-o'clock shadow, he looked like an ideal Imperial officer.

"You?" I bobbed my head back. "What are you doing here?"

"More importantly," Kavid asked, "What do you want with us?"

The pilot looked at some passing guards and started walking us back through the tunnel. "Come with me." Our curiosity overpowered our caution, and we followed.

"You won't find any Charged Particle Guns here."

"How do you know about that?" snapped Kavid.

"I worked for Nevets, remember? He has a big mouth, especially when it's full of alcohol." I was amazed that this guy could deceive Nevets, even after the major had threatened to kill him. "There are CPGs here, but they are so stripped down that you'll never get them working before the Stone Dragon gets here."

Now Kavid was really annoyed. "You sure seem to know a lot about our goals in life."

"I've been working for Nevets for the past year. His life has revolved around you guys. And like I said, the guy likes to talk." He paused for a moment to let us analyze what he had just said. "Look, the SD is going to be here by morning. You guys need what I have to offer."

"Before we move on, will you at least tell us your name?" I asked.

The pilot took a deep breath a braced himself.

"Captain Zaun Skyler."

It took all the willpower I had to not jump the man and start breaking his skull. Kavid had drawn his pistol, but the fight against pulling the trigger was shaking his arm. Skyler merely looked at the floor, carrying a hint of a sneer.

The name Zaun Skyler was synonymous with "butcher" in the Helic Republic. The "Z-Killer" as he was also known, was an assassin of the Imperial General Cran Madash. Skyler was the best Zoid pilot Madash had in his forces, and the general had nasty ambitions to conquer the Republic's colonies out along the Rosti River.

Skyler's brutal fighting techniques destroyed dozens of Zoids and killed or wounded hundreds of people—from both sides. What made everything even more drastic was that he did all his fighting in a Blade Liger he commandeered from his very first kill. Very few people had ever lived to see him.

How did fate ever place him with us?

"If you kill me now you'll never make it off this base alive."

"It would certainly make us heroes." Said Kavid. Amen, brother.

Skyler looked up at us with a fire in his eyes. "My sins of the past are exactly that: the past. I broke away from General Madash years ago. I couldn't leave the Imperial Army, so I transferred to a place I thought I'd never be seen again: with Nevets. Regardless, I got stuck in the hands of another power-hungry lunatic.

"Something happened to me while working for the major that never happened to me before: I lost. Nevets was going to kill me for it. Despite all my glorious service I realized just how worthless I really am to this damn Empire. But before I was going to get punished, you saved me! Despite my evils I was given a second chance. I owe you both everything that I have."

He opened a door into a small Zoid refit room. "Including this."

My jaw felt like it hit the floor. I'm pretty sure Kavid's gun did.

Skyler's Blade Liger Vampire was both myth and legend. Myth that it gained power from sucking life out of the Zoid-cores of fallen enemies, legend in the number of them. It was also said that there was more gold highlighting the Liger than in the Emperor's entire stateroom. The silvery underbelly and legs seemed to brighten the room. At the same time, the black armor plating was drenched in stealth-paints, practically sucking the armored parts of the Zoid out of view.

Was this an engineering masterpiece or and insane man's expression of gluttony?

"The Vampire." Gloated Skyler. "It is the only chance you have against the Stone Dragon."

His statement slapped me back into the real world. "Skyler, there is no doubt that your Blade Liger is powerful, but we're looking for energy weapons, not bladed ones."

"I've got two of them." He pointed to the Attack Booster Cannons the Liger carried.

Kavid stopped drooling and almost started laughing. "Those are just heavy lasers. Worthless against—."

Skyler cut him off, "Wrong! This isn't an ordinary Blade Liger!" The mass-murderer started to look maniacal. "This is the most powerful Zoid on Zi! I removed the original Attack Booster Cannons long ago and replaced them with twin Charged Particle Guns!"

Kavid's gun hit the floor again. Did he have the safety on? "You put two CPG's in…in a Blade Liger?"

"Yes!" The giggling pilot slapped his hand on the leg of his Zoid. "I wanted the most powerful, most maneuverable Zoid on Zi because I knew a day like this would come!"

I took a step back. "What is today supposed to be?"

Skyler didn't look at me, he just made fists and glared through the floor. "The day I start redeeming myself!. The day I blow that new Zoid off of the planet and get remembered for being a hero, not a murderer!"

Kavid had his pistol holstered again, but kept his hand on it. "You're not fighting with us, 'Z-Killer'."

Skyler's head whipped over in anger, but his emotion was quickly detained. "What?"

I continued, "This is our mission, and although we do appreciate anything you can offer us, we won't let anyone else get hurt."

The Imperial pilot took a moment to look down in deep thought. When he spoke again, I had to strain to hear him. "I'm the only person that knows how to pilot my Zoid."

"Everybody says that," said Kavid, "We'll figure it out."

Skyler got louder. "If you want the Blade Liger Vampire to help you, you let me drive it. Period."

The cock on Kavid's pistol clicked. Skyler looked down its barrel as Kavid aimed. "There are a lot of reasons I should kill you right now. Don't you dare try to make demands."

Skyler's eyes remained stone cold.

A rush of panic flowed through me as I said the next sentence: "No. He's right. All right, Skyler…you're in."