Zoids: Chaotic Age Zero

Name: Booster Cannon
Cost: $10,000
Weight: 1 Ton
Function: Speed Enhancement/Supporting Fire
Mounts On: Helcat, Redler
Mount Location:
--On the Redler, one Booster Cannon mounts to either side of the main body, above and behind the wing.
--On the Helcat, the Booster Cannon replaces the twin 20mm Laser Machineguns.
In Brief: The Booster Cannon provides a speed and firepower boost to the Zoid it mounts on. The number of Booster Cannons that mount on the Zoid in question changes from Zoid to Zoid.

Weapon Type: (Twin) Standard Beam Cannon(s)
Ammunition: 100mm Energy Pulses
Rate of Fire: Semiautomatic

Description: It would be fascinating to learn how the minds of many engineers work, but unfortunately, the majority of us cannot know exactly what goes on inside their heads. The origins of the Booster Cannon have largely been obscured by time, but we can rest assured that some Guylos engineer at some point in time invented what can be called among the wackiest modifications or inventions to come out of the Empire. Someone, at some time, decided to integrate a booster and a 100mm Beam Cannon and call it a piece of equipment.

Once again, remaining records aren't the greatest, but what we have found out is that the Booster Cannon was originally supposed to be "bundled parts package" for the Redler, which is really just a chasis. That's a simple enough idea, but where the idea to also mount it on the Helcat came from... well, your guess is as good as mine. The point remains, it happened. The Redler equips two Booster Cannons, the Helcat equips one. It's the same price for the Redler's two Booster Cannons as it is for the Helcat's one, because the Helcat variant is adapted.

So, what does the Booster Cannon do? For the "booster" part of it, each cannon on the Zoid provides as 125 kph boost in speed. So, that increases the Redler's top speed to Mach 3.2, and the Helcat's top speed is improved to a modest 315 kph. Both Zoids also get a healthy boost in acceleration when they gain this modification. Note that if the Redler looses one Booster Cannon, it is inadvisable to use the other as a booster, because it will almost certainly result in uncontrolable spinning of the aircraft.

For the "cannon" clause, the Booster Cannon is literally also a 100mm Beam Cannon, with a semiautomatic firing rate. For the Helcat, this both a blessing and a curse, as it replaces both 20mm Laser Machineguns with one much larger weapon. The Redler stands nothing to lose from this modification, though, as it had no weapons to start with. Note that while the two 100mm weapons do give the Redler some respectable striking power, they're not exactly dogfighting weapons.

Anyway, here we stand. The Redler can mount two of these, the Helcat one, and you get both with the Redler for the same price as the one with the Helcat. And, for that one price, the Booster Cannon is available to pilots all around the world through the public domain plans featured in the Customizable Parts line - dig in!