Name: Stealth Dragon
Alignment: Zi
Family: Serpent
Registration Number: Zi-011
Crew: 1
Height: 3.5 Meters
Length: 22 Meters
Weight: 35 Tons
Top Speed: 310 kph (above surface), 450 kph (air), 140 kph (sand), 100 knots/185.2 kph (water), 70 kph (dirt)
Weapons: Dual 40mm Machine Guns, Hardened Alloy Tail Blade, Hardened Alloy , Claws and Fangs
Special Abilities: IR Sensors, IR Suppression, Noise Suppression, Flight, Swimming, Steam Vents, E-Shield, Burrowing
Level: 4
The Stealth Dragon is a Zoid whose origins are largely shrouded in mystery, owing to its relative rarity as combat Zoid and to its operating difficulty. Historians and engineers agree that the Zoid has a long history, serving on both sides of the ancient conflict between the Helic Republic and the various Empires, but there hypotheses about its creation begin to differ. Many people believe that the Stealth Dragon was an Imperial Zoid, evolved from the venerable Stealth Viper, which explains the similarities in names and animal families. Further evidence in favor of a Republican origin is the nature of the Zoid: it's a jack-of-all-trades. It can fly, swim, slither, and burrow, plus has a plethora of other abilities. The ability to do anything and everything is a favorite of the Republic's, and lends credence to those particular claims.
Similarly, some people believe the Stealth Dragon's misty conception is best placed in the Empire. The Stealth Dragon is known for an incredibly steep learning curve, indicative of difficulty in using the Zoid not merely related to its multienvironmental capabilities. This further indicates the relation of the Stealth Dragon to a wild-type Zoid. Some engineers and archeologists note a Zoid fossil (remains) record that shows the existence of a similar winged serpent-typed Zoid in the Central Continent of Delphoi - home to all three of the Empires over the years. The advocates of the Imperial origin hypothesis state this as evidence: the Empire modified a wild Zoid into the Stealth Dragon.
Whatever its origins, there are a few, solid facts that you should know regarding the Stealth Dragon. First and foremost, it can operate on or under earth or sea, as well as in the air. It is equipped with several less sophisticated stealth systems, really has no legs and moves by slithering plus boosters, and is relatively light armed. The Stealth Dragon also happens to have rather good performance, topping the Blade Liger in that area, also boasting a very generous top speed. In terms of armor, the Stealth Dragon is roughly on par with the Lightning Saix. It should further be noted that the Stealth Dragon's body consists of a large series of overlapping armor plates, which conceal and protect a number of ball joints. (Earlier models of the 'Dragon had exposed joints, but this was fixed in later versions.) The Stealth Dragon isn't the best on the offense: one pair of high-rate-of-fire 40mm machine guns plus several melee weapons, but skilled pilots can still use this Zoid to devestating effect.
The Stealth Dragon is a bit of a rarity in terms of Zoids, mainly because it's just not all that popular. It has a steep learning curve and has few day to day uses in the civilian world. However, it has enjoyed limited sales and distribution among the military and professional Zoid pilots, where the proper person can really make this Zoid shine.
Weapons:
Dual 40mm Machine Guns:
Set into the Stealth Dragon's mouth are a pair of 40mm Machine Gun - 15 shots per second each, 30 shots per second between them. Since they're built into the mouth they have a good field of fire, and can pretty much shoot wherever the head can aim. Given the flexibility of the Stealth Dragon, they have the ability to shoot more or less in every direction around the dragon, save for directly under it. Unfortunately, these simply aren't meant for underground fighting, but in and under the water, plus on land and in air, these can fire just fine.
Hardened Alloy Tail Blade:
Set on the end of the Stealth Dragon's tail is a short but quite effective tail blade, at about half the length of a Blade Liger’s blade (that means that it's about 3.5 meters in length). Thicker, but not chargeable nor as long as Laser Blades, this weapon can still be powerful if used properly and if it finds purchase repeatedly on its target. The ability of the Dragon to move under ground, above ground, in the air or in the water makes this little melee weapon quite the valuable ally. It can make quite a mark if used correctly.
Hardened Alloy Claws and Fangs:
And what good is a dragon without claws? Above the main body, there are two short claws. These serve mainly the purpose of gripping, as like the Deadborder and Gojulas arms, they are far too short to do a proper melee job. In the best of all worlds, the 'Dragon would use its fangs. This pair of decently powerful canine teeth are made of hardened alloy. They are a key for removing unwanted enemy armor. They may not strip armor off as quickly as those machine guns, but they are still very, VERY useful.
Special Abilities:
IR Sensors:
These IR Sensors are mounted in the Zoid's head and give the 'Dragon the ability to read the heat signatures of enemy zoids who aren't somehow suppressing or cooling their zoid. This is a key ability when in its own steam cloud.
IR Suppression:
Remember, half of "Stealth Dragon" is "Stealth". This Zoid has the ability to null, disperse, and otherwise render invisible its own heat signature, which make IR Sensors and IR-guided missiles far less effective when used against it. Generally speaking, this is sufficient to stop an enemy from pinpointing you, though someone really paying attention to his sensors might catch enough of a flicker to know that you're somewhere there.
Noise Supression:
When running on the ground, underground, or in the water this combination of active and passive sound scrubbers works to render the Stealth Dragon unhearable. This gives the Stealth Dragon the main advantage underwater, where passive sonar no longer can find it. (Active sonar, like that found on torpedoes, is unaffected.) Above ground, this silences any mechanical noise that the Stealth Dragon might make, though gunfire is far from deadened or even dampened.
Flight:
One of the Stealth Dragon's great appeals is its ability to fly. It uses a system of Ion Boosters to reach speeds 450 km/h. It is, however, sluggish in the air, not to be mistaken for a dedicated aerial, and can't top 2 kilometers in altitude. Flight also disables the Zoid's E-Shield due to power consumption and aerodynamic reasons.
Swimming:
Thanks to the assistance of the Ion Boosters, this Dragon finds the ability to move under water unhampered, his maneuverability undiminished. These boosters can pivot and turn enough to provide the excellent snake-like maneuverability enjoyed on land. However, the Stealth Dragon is not fully compartmentalized, and can only reach depths of about 200 meters before the pressure gets to it.
Steam Vents:
The Stealth Dragon's Steam Vents put out a basic, thick cloud of hot steam emitted from vents all over the body. After some time, this will be thick enough to provide trouble for the enemy, though be forewarned, while this does not completely cut out IR sensors, it does make things a little blurry. Also, this really isn't as thick or opaque as smoke, but it can still do a good job obscuring everything in the area.
E-Shield:
Using the rotation of the turbines that turn the ball joints, the Stealth Dragon can form an E-shield of the quality of the Shield Liger’s, running the length of the dragon up until two or three joints toward the end of the tail. It is possible to use this shield while or on land, but not anywhere else. Use of it underwater leads to a much diffused shield, easily shattered, especially while moving at full speed (if it forms at all). Use of it underground leads to many strange and unforseen interactions between the shield and the surrounding soil. It can't be used in the air for power consumption and aerodynamic reasons. So, an E-Shield indeed, but on land only.
Burrowing:
Much as you’d expect, this allows the Dragon to move through loosely packed dirt and sand at varying speeds. While a burrower, it is not the best of them. It displaces dirt visible and can only go a few meters underground. Neither the E-shield or the Machine Gun can work underground.
