Name: Attack Booster Unit
Cost: $12,500
Weight: 12 Tons
Function: Speed Enhancement/Supporting Firepower
Mounts On: Blade Liger
Mount Location:
--On all Zoids, the Attack Booster Unit mounts to the sides and back of the Zoids, each booster pod resting above the space between the fore and hind legs.
In Brief: These large boosters offer a 50 kph boost in speed to the Zoid they mount to, while also providing two AZ80mm Beam Cannons to supplement the Zoid's ranged firepower.

Weapon Type: Twin Beam Cannons
Ammunition: AZ80mm High-Powered Beams
Rate of Fire: Linked Semiautomatic

Description: Centuries ago, when the Blade Liger was newly wrought, the Helic Republic and the Guylos Empire signed a peace treaty, known today as the Great Armistice. This accord ended centuries of fighting between the Republic and the Empire, but, just as importantly, created an international peacekeeping organization dedicated to creating "peace and prosperity for the people of Planet Zi." This "Guardian Force" included the first and the only Blade Liger around, piloted by the legendary hero Van Flyheight, who had defeated the Death Saurer at Guygalos. However, this peace was not meant to last. Along with the startling and frightening appearance of a man named "Hiltz" with ambitions of world domination, a rogue former Guylos Special Forces pilot (whose name is now unknown) was running amok with his Geno Saurer. The situation only descended further into chaos as this pilot's Organoid evolved and remade the Geno Saurer into the Geno Breaker, a nearly unstoppable Zoid X.

The problem was, fast and agile as the Blade Liger was, this new Geno Breaker was even faster and more maneuverable (whereas the Geno Saurer's speed had paled in comparison to the 'Liger's). Moreover, it quickly became apparent that Captain Flyheight was at a disadvantage against the Geno Breaker, and needed every edge he could get. So, the great engineers and inventors of both the Republic and the Empire put their heads together. With some nudging from the famous and infamous Doctor D., these designers came up with this: the Attack Booster Unit.

The Attack Booster Unit was an unprecendented marvel of engineering, tailored exactly to Van Flyheight and the Blade Liger, for the specific purpose of outmaneuvering the Geno Breaker. That never exactly happened, as when Hiltz was defeated, the unnamed Special Forces operative melted into the background, and never again appeared in any historical or military records that survive today. However, the Attack Booster Unit has shown itself to immensely useful to the Blade Liger for other purposes. It gives the 'Liger a whopping 50 kph boost in speed, as a well as a corresponding increase in maneuverability and agility at lower speeds. At higher speeds the 'Liger may find its maneuvering impaired, because it simply wasn't meant to go so fast - but the ABU helps nonetheless.

Furthermore, the ABU can be used as a weapon. If the booster pods flip vertically, so that the boosters are facing forward, the booster vents can be used as beam weapons. Quite ingenious really (thank Doctor D.). They are the equivalent of standard AZ80mm Beam Cannons, and very handy for defeating opponents that would normally be out of reach. They're semiautomatic, and have linked firing, so you can't fire them separately. Furthermore, because of the way the system is designed, you can't fire them when the boosters are still pointed backwards. It is not recommended that you use the boosters when they're pointed forwards, but it is possible...

Anyway, that's the long and the short of it for the Attack Booster Unit. Van Flyheight, at least, gave it very positive reviews. Price might be a problem, but it's well worth the cost if you want that extra edge on that Geno Breaker/Lighting Saix/other opponent who can outrun and outmaneuver you.