(Disclaimer: I do not own the Zoids franchise. Copyright goes to Tomy for making this fantastic series. All I own are this story, its characters and some concept Zoids that might appear.)
Zoids: Lost Eden
Chapter 1: A Grave Robber's Calling
Further up north of the desert lays Kalanes City, a bustling market town built on an old Republican outpost base. Much of the old fortifications still stood in place, providing the whole area with its own barrier from external forces, be it the slow ravages of desert sandstorms or renegade outlaws looking to loot the place for any leftover military remains.
The city itself is quite huge and complex, with many narrow streets that make traveling by larger Zoids difficult. The most recognizable feature of the town is the Kalanes marketplace located towards the edge of town near an old maintenance hangar used during the Devil's War. All manner of goods can be found here, be it clothing and jewelry, food and antiques, even A.I units and weapons. Traders and scavengers constantly loiter around here, looking for the prospective buyer who will partake of some of their wares.
Seven miles outside the city is an ancient battleground ripe with the remains of many fallen Zoids. Usually an eerie sight in the evening, by day it is a busy place with scavengers and raiders going from one dead Zoid to another, taking whatever remains they are able to carry. They were grave robbers—defilers of the old battlegrounds. Not exactly the most honorable job but it is necessary should they wish to stay afloat in the difficult economy of the world.
"Hey, I hope you don't mind if I take some of your weapons~" A teenage girl greeted a dead Gordos, tapping its closed visor lightly as she did so. Had the Zoid been able to respond, it would've probably growled or worse, fired on the intruder but it was just an empty, metal shell right now. The girl started climbing the complex array of joints and pistons, working her way up a few steps at a time until she managed to reach the Zoid's railguns. Looking down below, she could see that one of the railguns had been buried in the sand. "No biggie. One would still fetch quite the price…" With that, she set to work, hacking away at the connection ports with her portable tools.
By the time she was finished, the sun had already set and fewer people were wandering the stalls at the market. Upon seeing this, the girl sighed. She would just have to try her luck tomorrow.
"Hey Alyx! Clocking out for the night?" A robust man called out from behind the windows of a guardhouse by the market gates.
"Yeah. Taking off this railgun was a bit of a pain. I guess the old soldier didn't want to let go of it just yet." The girl Alyx replied, still dragging the salvaged railgun on top of an automatic mobile platform.
"Well, I suppose you do have your fair share of favorable coincidences." The man grunted as he stood up from the creaky chair he had been sitting in. "An Imperial convoy would be stopping by this area tomorrow."
"Sounds like a bunch of wealthy clients—what are they stopping here for?" Alyx asked.
"Probably some repairs and all that. War's been spreading even to far regions like this one." The man replied as he looked on towards the desert. "Some guys of ours left a couple of years ago. Said they'll fare better working in the military. Wonder where they are now?"
"I get what you mean." Alyx glanced at the makeshift bracelet she has on her left wrist which the man noticed.
"What is that anyway? You're always wearing it."
"This?" Alyx raises her wrist to the man. "It's a gift from an old friend. Haven't seen her for a while now."
"Why?"
"Same reason as everyone else you were talking about. She also left this place to look for greener pastures. I don't recall her wanting to be military though. It's already been seven years since then."
"You too huh?" The man muttered quietly before shaking the sad thoughts out of the conversation. "Anyway, you'll be coming along right?"
"Of course! Who wouldn't want to profit off some wealthy Imperials?" Alyx laughed as she headed out to turn in for the night, dragging the salvaged gun with her.
Her house was just a brisk fifteen minute walk away from the marketplace. Like the other scavengers, her house was just a simple, one-room warehouse that has been renovated into some studio apartment. It has some room for a small kitchen and bathroom but otherwise, most of it is open space which Alyx has filled with various parts and weapons she's accumulated over the years; all sorted neatly according to which parts fit which Zoids best.
"A Gunsniper's Missile Pods, a Liger's magnetic generator and now, the Gordos' 105 mm Railgun… Well, these should net me quite a huge amount~" Alyx grinned to herself for a moment before she slumped into an unenthusiastic frown. "But seeing that the Empire's got quite an ego, thinking that Republican tech is way inferior to theirs, I may not be able to sell any of these at all! Should I just give it a black and red paintjob and pretend that it's taken from an Imperial Zoid?" Alyx pondered over the marketability of her wares.
"Well, whatever." She sighs after a skimming through her stuff after a couple of minutes. Lying down in a hammock she put up near the left wall, she decides to just sleep for the night. "I'll cross that bridge when I get there." She thought as her gaze wondered to the bracelet on her left arm. "It's already been seven years Sakura… Will I ever see you again?"
Alyx got up early the next morning to arrange her wares around the Kalanes marketplace. Fortunately for her, the management had taken to reserving spots for the regular merchants like her so as to avoid any squabbling over who gets which space. Nevertheless, she set out earlier than normal so that she can avoid the large crowd of vendors that will be flocking the place. With the help of a civilian-use Godos, she managed to set up shop and finish arranging the wares just a few minutes before sunrise.
"Now that's taken care of—" Alyx stretched as she looked at the humble shop she's put up. As expected, the components were painted to match the look of the Imperial Zoids. "Well…not that the Imperial guys won't notice but, it can't hurt to try." Alyx smiled, feeling content at what she has set up so far. Glancing at the clock, she realized she still had a couple of hours before the convoy was expected to come rolling in.
"Better head home to freshen up a bit." Alyx thought to herself as she skipped all the way back to her house. "Wouldn't want to face my clients all sweaty and dirty after all!"
In the meantime, the Imperial convoy finally arrived. Several Gustav trailers lined up and upon presenting their registration, entered the city gates. As expected, most of their carriers needed some repair work but, most of the Zoids they were towing along were relatively unscathed. They docked at the marketplace, given that the place used to be a maintenance hangar. As the Captain alighted from the Gustav, the mayor of the city was already waiting for them.
"It's rather rare for us to receive passerby like you. It almost makes me suspicious." The mayor greeted with a sly smile.
"And it is an honor to be welcomed by the mayor himself. I really wasn't expecting this." The Captain likewise greeted, extending his hand to shake the mayor's. Immediately, his eyes fell on the rowdy crowd that awaited their arrival. "I can see that you've prepared quite a welcome party for us."
"Please forgive the unwanted attention—"The mayor cleared his throat as he apologized. "Word around here spreads fast. These merchants and scavengers flock military convoys like vultures once the word gets out. The people here have grown accustomed to acting as doormats for soldiers like you."
"I take it that they provide their services for the Republic as well?" The Captain started walking towards the hangar with the mayor trailing behind.
"Yes. However, that is their own personal business and not as a representative of Kalanes as a whole." The mayor assured the Captain as they continued towards the mayor's office. "So, shall we get down to business? Or would you like to take a rest in the meantime? I have various recreational facilities in my home." He offered but the Captain just shrugged his shoulders.
"I can't really see how I'll be able to relax with all the noise outside." He made a quick glance at the crowd before leaning his face close to the mayor's, speaking in a hushed voice so that no one else may overhear. "We can't tarry much longer. Although we managed to arrive in one piece, I can't help but assume the worst. I want to get this over with and depart as soon as we can. Trust me, it would be beneficial for the both of us."
The mayor nodded. The Captain rose up and gestured to his pilots. "I do want to give my team some reprieve though. Would you mind clearing away the crowd so they can move around without being berated with sales talk left and right?"
"Of course sir. Please, wait for me in my office while I sort this matter out." The mayor nodded before heading off to confront the gathering outside the marketplace. "I look forward to doing business with you, Captain Gregory Ash."
By the time Alyx returned to the stalls, a huge commotion of angry parts sellers have converged right at the entrance of the marketplace. The mayor's assistant was addressing the mob from behind the closed gates, obviously trying to pacify the crowd which was growing more agitated and impatient by the minute.
"Hey, what's going on?" Alyx asked somebody from the angry throng of people.
"Well, the mayor decided to lock us all out of the shop."
"What?!" Alyx gasped in surprise. "So we prepared all this for nothing?!"
"Apparently…"
Before adding to the multitude of voices shouting their distaste to the sudden announcement, Alyx walked a little closer towards the locked gates, trying to catch even a fraction of what the mayor's assistant was saying.
"I understand your frustration but, the Captain of that convoy himself requested that the marketplace to close down for today." He was immediately greeted with jeers and insults from the crowd. "Please, it's just for one day! Rest assured that all your wares will still be there once the market opens tomorrow so please just—" The situation obviously made the assistant feel uncomfortable as he stepped away from the gates and started running back towards the office.
"So there won't be any profit for us today." Alyx sighed. "The management probably just wants to keep it all for themselves. This isn't exactly the first time it happened." She recalled a similar incident a few months ago. A Republican convoy stopped by the place for repairs and resupply. Management immediately closed off the market, under the excuse that the soldiers ordered it themselves.
"Well, it looks like it's no excuse this time." The guard from last night approached Alyx. "Saw the mayor talking to the captain himself. From the looks of it, these guys seem to be in a rush so I doubt if they'll be taking their sweet time around our town. You guys won't be making a dime anyway, regardless if the market's open or not."
"Figures. Still, they should at least let us get our stuff. I for one don't want to go back tomorrow to see all the parts I worked hard to salvage and fix gone!"
"Nah, these Imperial troops won't steal them or anything. Besides, what would they do with your Republican components anyway?" The man teased Alyx who only responded with a shrug. The sounds of the trailers opening silenced the noisy crowd. The convoy was unloading their Zoids and leading them to the hangars for checkup. Lacking in stature, Alyx nimbly climbed up the guardhouse so she could get a better view of the Zoids the Imperial convoy was packing.
"Well? See anything impressive?" The guard called out to Alyx.
"Nothing I wasn't already expecting. I can see Red Horns and Rev Raptors and—oh, they've got a Sabre Tiger too." Alyx reported back. "Nothing out of the ordinary yet but, that's still an impressive array of Zoids. The Zoids are all equipped with state-of-the-art Imperial tech. I hate to say this but, I don't think these folks will be impressed with what we peddle around these parts."
"Hahaha!" The guard gave out a hearty laugh. "There's always next time kid. Now get down from there before you fall or something."
"I'll be down in just a sec—WHOAH!" Alyx suddenly gasped in surprise and so did the crowd. From the larger trailers, a deep bellow resounded, followed by a slight rumbling of the ground. Something big was alighting, prompting Alyx to stay and see what it was. A long, mechanical trumpet emerged first; then, the gleam of sharp, silver tusks. "I don't believe this!" Alyx exclaimed. "They've brought an Elephander with them!"
"That Zoid's got enough power to bring this entire fortress down by itself!" The guard was also awed at what he was seeing. "Rarely do we get travelers packing Zoids like these."
"Look!" One of the people in the mob suddenly pointed to another Zoid following the Elephander. It was a tall, bipedal Zoid. Although it was less armed than the behemoth ahead, its mere appearance was enough to silence and intimidate the angry mob. It let out a soft growl as it turned to look at the crowd before proceeding to the hangars.
"Geno Saurer…" It was the only words Alyx could mutter upon seeing the blue Tyrannosaurus follow the Elephander ahead. Although more powerful Zoids have emerged since it was first introduced, the Geno Saurer had still proven to be a terrifying foe in the battlefield, wiping out troops of lesser Zoids with its Charged Particle Cannon.
"Weapons like that can annihilate entire cities. But I wonder? What could these troops be doing in this town? I highly doubt they're here just for repairs and sightseeing. From what I heard, the damage was done by a Republican scout force. I can only guess what happened to those unfortunate souls that tried it."
"Don't tell me you're getting another bad feeling from this old man?" Alyx asked with a groan. She jumped down from the roof, landing just a few feet away from the man.
"Well—" Before he can finish answering, another cry was heard from the hangars. Fortunately, it seemed to be coming from the pilots this time. "What's going on over there?" He wondered.
"Maybe someone was injured? Or their equipment went haywire." Alyx suggested as she caught up to the man's pace. From the wire gate that isolated the marketplace from the rest of town, Alyx saw a hooded figure darting away from the Zoids and trailers, running off to the direction of the loading bay where the convoy came in. A couple of Imperial soldiers were following but they were unarmed and as such, were not able to apprehend whoever that person was.
"I guess those proud Imperials have their own security quirks as well." Alyx laughed to herself. "That person was probably a thief who managed to slip through the confusion and steal something." she assumed. Seeing that the matter no longer concerned her, Alyx turned to leave, deliberately walking in the direction that will afford her a better view of the Zoids.
Aside from the Geno Saurer, which had already vanished into the dark corridors, the Imperial troops have also brought in a Dark Spiner and a Liger Zero. Alyx had heard about the capabilities of these two Zoids but the Liger Zero caught her attention more. For one, its eyes were blue and its armor was a combination of light gray and black. Aside from the eyes, it looked more similar to the Republican model than the red and gold one fielded by the Imperial army.
It was a minor detail but for some reason, it bothered Alyx. It almost seemed like a premonition of sorts. And it didn't seem to be a good one.
"What a great way to start our short vacation!" An Imperial pilot yelled out as their group walked around town. Her tone was that of obvious sarcasm, garnering mixed reactions from her fellow pilots.
"Captain's orders Vishna." An older woman addressed the short-tempered, silver-haired girl. She paused for a bit to look at the houses that dotted the landscape of Kalanes City, watching the people move through their open windows. Seeing nothing that was of any interest, she continued. "I can't believe a stowaway managed to get on though. I mean, what in the world were the guards doing?"
"They were probably dozing off!" The girl called Vishna scoffed. "Why do we have to clean up after their mess? That stowaway had better not stolen any components from my Zoid or else!"
"We get it now calm down." Another girl answers Vishna. "Look, it is possible that this stowaway was already with us even before we left for this city. It's no one's fault. After all, we're all just tired here. Anyway, it doesn't seem as if she had stolen anything. Otherwise she wouldn't have gotten away that fast."
"I agree but—" Vishna tries to protest but decides against it as she scratches her head. "It's just annoying. What if it's a spy from the Republic? Then our whole mission's over!"
"No, I doubt they have that capacity." The other girl replies. A few more minutes of walking and they soon reach a fork in the road. Before any one of them could get it in their heads to split up the search, she urged them towards the right path: the one that leads near the upper sections of the city.
"And why should we take this road?" Vishna asked again, out of curiosity.
"Just stop complaining for five minutes okay, Vishna?" The oldest of the three pilots spoke up. Vishna turned to meet her gaze.
"But Seral-!"
"Look, I know our day off has been grounded but—look on the bright side!" The woman Seral explained. "If we finish this mission quick, we may still have enough time to grab a quick break before we leave." She turned to their other companion who had already walked on ahead of them. "Sakura grew up here. I don't see any reason to doubt her now."
"She was from Kalanes huh?" Vishna sighed as she continued walking.
With nothing to do for the day, Alyx loitered around the food stalls, munching on some local fruit she bought for a snack. It was still early in the afternoon to head home but the city itself was lacking in any form of recreational services. Yawning, she discarded the remains of the fruit in a waste basket and started walking, heading into nowhere in particular.
Passing by the gossiping residents, she overheard a conversation between some men playing a board game under a shabby wooden pavilion. She recognized them to be scavengers like her so she walked a little closer, managing to catch wind of what they were talking about.
"Dude, I'm serious! There were three of them, walking around earlier! You should have seen them, they were so hot!" One of the boys gushed. His friend didn't seem too impressed with what he was saying though, judging from the expression on his face.
"Yeah right…"
"Oh come on! You should've seen the way they were walking around. It's like they were lost or something. I would've volunteered to help them out then, show them a good time you know? But one of them seemed to be familiar with the city so I didn't get that chance…Arrgghhh!"
"Boohoo." The other guy sarcastically replied, sipping a glass of iced water. Just then, Alyx approached the duo.
"Hey, what's going on? Why's he all slumped up?"
"Hey Alyx…" The friend greeted. "This bozo's here thought he could hit on some Imperial chicks passing by."
"Oh come on man! Stop rubbing salt in my wounds! At least not in front of Alyx…"
"They must be from that convoy back at the market." Alyx explained. "I think something was stolen from them. Those girls must have been sent to look for it."
"Yeah, well…" The other guy stood up, dusting off the crumbs of his shirt. "What else is new? I'm more interested in the recent wreck that turned up around fifteen miles from here."
"Fifteen miles? That's quite a ways off our usual turf. What kind of Zoids are there?"
"Two Command Wolves and a Shield Liger."
"Doesn't sound too fancy." Alyx sighed.
"These Zoids aren't the antiques we dig out from the ground. Based from what I heard from the witnesses, these Zoids are unfortunate casualties of a recent battle that took place. Only yesterday in fact." Upon hearing these details, Alyx felt a new surge of excitement within her.
"You mean…these are the Republican troops that ambushed the Imperial convoy in town?"
"Seems like it. So, are you coming with us? We'll leave in the evening. Can't let those soldiers catch wind of this. They may accuse us of helping their enemies."
"Of course! Who knows, maybe we can fix one up real good and use it ourselves!" Thrilled by the notion that she might finally get her own Zoid, Alyx darted back to the direction of her house, waving to the other scavengers. "I just need to get my tools. I'll be over there in a second!"
Upon arriving, she immediately unlocked the huge panels that covered the entrance, flipping on the light so she could see better while she gathers up her tools. Instead, she was greeted by a different kind of surprise once the light flooded the room.
"What the-?" Alyx gasped as she saw broken shards of glass scattered throughout the floor. One of her windows was broken, some of the equipment she hanged overhead were lying on the ground. From the looks of it, it seemed as if she was robbed. She immediately scanned the room for any lead or trace of the intruder. On the corner near the door, a girl was hunched over, tending to the wounds on her legs. From the color of her clothes, she recognized her to be the same person being chased by the Imperial soldiers.
"How dare you break in here!" Alyx angrily stormed up to the girl. Grabbing her by the collar, she lifted her up until their eyes met. She seemed to be around Alyx's age as well. "Not content with whatever you stole from those soldiers? Well, you're not taking any-!"
"Please!" The girl pleaded, still exhausted from running. "Let me hide out here for a while…I-I didn't take anything from yours. Nor theirs."
Remembering the wounds on her legs, Alyx let the girl go so she can tend to her wounds. Glancing outside, she checked to see if anyone had followed them there. Seeing that there was no one around, she immediately closed the door to conceal her unexpected visitor.
"If you're no thief then why are those people chasing you?" Alyx began interrogating.
"Obviously because they think I am." The girl replied without looking up, still concerned with bandaging her leg. "I stowed away on their convoy since I needed a ride. No matter what, I needed to get here. Otherwise—" The girl gave out a long, exhausted sigh. "Otherwise, even I may not be able to prevent it from spreading."
"Prevent what from spreading?" Alyx asked, concerned over the mysterious girl's words.
"War."
Writer's Note: Well, here it is! Lost Eden has officially started~
I'll run this little segment on each chapter. This segment will contain information and backdrop about various items and events within the story. First up is Kalanes City. It is a completely made-up town as the scan of the Zi continent map I found was rather spotty. Plus, I can't read Japanese. Expect more made-up cities to pop up some time during the story.
For those who aren't familiar with the Battle Story, the Battle Story are a series of narratives included with the original Zoids model kits (That Japanese wall of text on the boxes? That's it-I think.). Some sources say that only the Japanese release boxes have them though, which makes me rather fortunate as Zoids here all use the Japanese Boxes. This story is set within the timeline of the NJR or New Japanese Release which includes models issued from 1999 up to the Three Tiger's Storyline. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though)
Anyway, that's all for now. See you in the next chapter!
Credits to: The Iron Bible and Phenotype Zoids Forum. That' where I get most of my info.