Name: Brastle Tiger (Imitate)
Alignment: Zi-Arms (Neo-Zenebas Empire)
Family: Tiger (Legendary)
Registration Number: EZ-076
Crew: 1
Height: 7.7 Meters
Length: 18.4 Meters
Weight: 91 Tons
Top Speed: 300 kph
Weapons: Thermic Weapons Array, AZ208mm Artillery Cannon Array, Hyper Triple Impact Cannon, Twin Dual 20mm Beam Machineguns, Dual Thermic Sabres, Strike Thermic Claws
Special Abilities: Heat Sink System, Thermic Blast, Heart of the Tiger
Level: Ultimate X
Back in the days of yore, during a period of heightened hostilities between the ZOITEC and Zi-Arms corporations, an astounding discovery was made. The last of the three Ancient Tiger Cores was excavated by the Zi-Arms corporation, this core containing the powerful Brastle Tiger. Though the Brastle Tiger’s origins prior to its resurrection by Zi-Arms are largely unknown, it’s believed that it was created by the Ancient Zoidians as a defender of Zi and Zoidkind.
Whatever its original role, Zi-Arms used combat and technical data from the core to bring the Brastle Tiger back to life -- even more powerful than before. With revolutionary Thermic Weaponry and a number of super-advanced other weapons and armor based on Ancient Zoidian technology, the Brastle Tiger seemed like the ultimate weapon. But it wasn’t enough for Zi-Arms. Using other data from the Brastle Tiger’s core, they recreated a Deathsaurer.
This was apparent an affront which the Brastle Tiger could not abide. It rebelled. And, in the only ever observed instance of the three legendary Zoids fighting together, joined forces with the Whitz Tiger and Rayse Tiger to destroy the Deathsaurer and the Zi-Arms corporation in its entirety. The legendary Brastle Tiger then vanished, with only a handful of sightings in the last few hundred years.
The ZOITEC corporation and whatever was left Zi-Arms both took it upon themselves to save all of the data from near-annhilated Zi-Arms computer network. Years later, the newly formed Zoid Battle Commission took interest in this data, and confiscated it. Several information warfare experts, as they iterated through the massive database, came across a group of hidden, heavily encrypted files. Using old, salvaged passwords used by the Zi-Arms CEO, the specialists uncovered copies of technical and combat data of the Brastle Tiger.
Needless to say, the Zoid Battle Commission recreated the body of the beast as best they could, but only the Brastle Tiger’s Legendary Tiger Core could actually power and control the form. Therefore, the ZBC was forced to scale down the Tiger’s abilities and compensate as best they could. This Zoid was the result. Despite not being the legendary Brastle Tiger itself, these Brastle Tigers still have thermic weaponry, fiery tempers, and a general hostility towards strangers. It’s also been observed that Brastle Tigers have a general dislike for Rayse Tigers, though the reason for this is not clear.
As far as the technical details, the Brastle Tiger has average ZX/UX armor, and isn’t as maneuverable as the Liger Zero or Rayse Tiger. However, it is exceptionally well-armed, and almost as strong as the Rayse Tiger, making it well able to handle itself in any situation. Two main problem it faces, though, are that it has a disturbing tendency to overheat when overworked, and it inability to hide from IR sensors, no matter the environment.
Weapons:
Thermic Weapons Array:
The “main” part of the Brastle Tiger isn’t just ornamental. It’s armor plating for the Brastle Tiger’s main weapons, the Thermic Weapons Array. When the plate slides away (an almost instantaneous process), it reveals a battery of no fewer than 10 thermic weapons. The first eight of them are grouped into pairs, and there are two of these pairs on either side of the Brastle Tiger’s mane. Each one is a full AZ80mm Thermic Laser Cannon, boasting a semiautomatic rate of fire and the ability to be chain-linked or fire in volleys. There are, however, two more unique cannons at the very peak of the Brastle Tiger’s mane: two AZ80mm Continuous Thermic Beam, which will continue to fire in constant, continuous stream until the pilot lets up on the trigger. All 10 weapons are Thermic, meaning that they are more powerful than even their large caliber would suggest, and have a wave-particle duality. (IE: They act somewhat like both lasers and solid shells. They can pierce a field that would normally block one or the other with half power.) However, all 10 weapons are fixed facing forwards, and all (the last two in particular) will cause the Brastle Tiger to overheat extremely quickly if overused.
AZ208mm Artillery Cannon Array:
If the Thermic Weapons just aren’t cutting it, or if the Brastle Tiger is overheating and needs to take a break from the Thermics, this Zoid is equipped with no fewer than 10 208mm Artillery Cannons. They’re all concealed by armor plates: three in each front shoulder, two in each back hip, and between them enough firepower to decimate a small army. Each artillery shell from any one of these cannons deals damage comparable to one round from the Hyper Triple Impact Cannon, making them devastatingly powerful. Like other artillery shells, they rely on a parabolic arc to let them hit targets with any degree of effectiveness. Though their maximum range is over a kilometer, their minimum range is 250 meters, making them useless against targets that are eager to close ground. Also, they’ve got to be carefully aimed, and are next-to-useless if used while the Brastle Tiger moves. However, they can’t cause the Brastle Tiger to overheat, making them a valuable addition to the Zoid’s arsenal.
Hyper Triple Impact Cannon:
Mounted to the Brastle Tiger’s undercarriage, fixed facing forward, is a semiautomatic three-barreled impact cannon. Ordinary enough, with a maximum range of 250 meters before the shells drop into the ground and become ineffective. However, the word “Hyper” in the description wasn’t exactly a bluff. Each cannon boasts an AZ208mm caliber, making it fully capable of downing lesser Zoids in just one or two volleys. And ontop of that, they can’t cause the Brastle Tiger to overheat.
Twin Dual 20mm Beam Machineguns:
Mounted behind two small armor plates in the Brastle Tiger’s face are two sets of two 20mm Beam Machineguns. Though their caliber is small, each puts out rounds at a rate of 20 rounds per second, making a grand total of 80 20mm rounds each second. They only contribute a miniscule amount to the Brastle Tiger’s heat production as well, so they can be used essentially without fear of overtaxing the Zoid.
Dual Thermic Sabres:
The Brastle Tiger possesses an emitter on either side of its main body -- not an actual blade. They possess exactly one function: to bring the Dual Thermic Sabres into existence. Made from pure thermic energy, the two 2 meter blades that appear when the emitters are activated only seem small and impotent. Anything tat the blade passes through won’t simply melt or slough: it will immediately vaporize. However, the short length of the weapons makes them tricky to use, and the emitters generate a massive amount of heat, so use them carefully and sparingly. (Note that the Brastle Tiger can use one blade independently, it need not use both at once.)
Strike Thermic Claws:
The Brastle Tiger has the odd ability to superheat any of its four claws, with effects similar to the Strike Laser Claw. The Strike Thermic Claw, as its called, allows the Brastle Tiger to cut through enemy armor and structure extremely easily (because said armor and structure has been melted and softened by the heat), but only for a limited time. While not as hot or energy-guzzling as the Thermic Sabres, the Strike Thermic Claw does heavily tax the heat sync system, and there’s no telling how long it can remain active for before melting the claws themselves.
Special Abilities:
Heat Sink System:
Obviously, many of the Brastle Tiger’s systems cause it to quickly accumulate heat. To stop it from simply instantly overheating and hitting Command System Freeze, it has a series of heat sinks that allow it to vent excess heat. (The heat sinks allow the Brastle Tiger’s heat level to decrease over time if heat generation has stopped.) There are four large heat sinks -- one on the back of each leg, and six more on various places on the tail. They constantly release a superheated steam which, while not hot enough to be a weapon or thick enough to be concealment, gives the Brastle Tiger away to IR Sensors. However, even if this steam were somehow dissipated, the ‘Tiger’s skin is even hotter. Indeed, there’s even one story that IR Sensors allowed a pilot to see a Brastle Tiger through a mountain.
Thermic Blast:
Thermic Blast is, quite simply, a superweapon that only the Brastle Tiger can use. As such, be forewarned: ZBC regulations limit this attack to one use per battle, and that use can’t be in the first round. Furthermore, the Brastle Tiger must have at least one Thermic Sabre Emitter and at least 5 cannons in its Thermic Weapons Array intact to use this attack.
With that said, the Thermic Blast requires the Brastle Tiger to first open every armor panel in its body and reveal thermic weapon it has. Then, it takes four seconds and overcharges each one of them and vents pure thermal energy through its heat sinks. The result is comparable to... well, there’s little it can be compared to. Firstly, everything within a 250 meter radius will be instantly and completely engulfed by a heat field that resembles a nuclear mushroom cloud. Most Zoids will be left as dust or ash from this alone. However, secondly, the attack produces an omnidirectional shockwave that’s as strong as a CPG’s, which can easily send many lighter Zoids flying. Though the very toughest standard Zoids, such as the Gojulas, Gordos, and Dark Horn can survive both effects if relatively undamaged prior, they’ll come out barely functioning. The good news is that they’ll have a respite: after using the Thermic Blast, Brastle Tiger itself is stunned for a few seconds. For a full round after that, the ‘Tiger experiences a 50% speed, maneuverability, and overall performance loss for a full round after the attack. Even after that, it won’t recover fully. Also, the attack overloads the Thermic Sabre Emitters, rendering them totally useless.
Heart of A Tiger:
While the ZBC couldn’t recreate the powerful Legendary Tiger Core that dwells within the resurrected Brastle Tiger, they had to put some kind of core in the Zoid. The process of finding a substitute was long and difficult -- but they ultimately succeeded. The end result of their search was a mutated standard Tiger-typed Zoid Core with salvaged remnants and scraps of the Brastle Tiger’s personality and combat data uploaded into it. Even then, it simply couldn’t produce the power necessary to fuel the Brastle Tiger, so the Commission was forced to bond an Organoid onto each Brastle Tiger’s core, making -- you guessed it, an Organoid System. While only a shadow of the real Legendary Tiger Core, this core comes with 30 experience “preloaded”. Furthermore, any experience the Brastle Tiger has is effectively multiplied by 1.5 when the ‘Tiger is put into a situation using its Thermic Weaponry.
However, note that the Brastle Tiger truly does have a heart of a tiger, with powerful free will to boot. It has a fiery and destructive temper and personality to match its weapons. Also, the Brastle Tiger’s core is strangely shielded by a special armor. Though its theorized that this was meant to stop the Brastle Tiger from melting its own Zoid Core during the Thermic Blast, this armor stops anything from entering the Zoid Core: virus, power surge (electrical/shocking weapons), or an Organoid. Oddly, the armor also suppresses the Brastle Tiger’s core signature, even though any IR sensor in the world can spot it a dozen kilometers away. Funny how the world works, no?
Available Modifications:
