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Chapter 2
Krueger stood a remote in his hands. He pressed a button. The
lights dimmed and a 5 foot tall TV screen was revealed behind a sliding wall panel. Everyone turned to see the screen.
Krueger
pressed yet another button and blue screen came up. A swirling diamond appeared, and then it exploded into white light. The
word Zi appeared in big white letters.
“In case you forgot, the Zi Project was initiated in 1980, after Godzilla
first attacked American soil. Working in two departments, the American and Japanese, Zi was an attempt at perfecting mechanized
combat machines. Today, with our finished models, we call them Zoids, after the first American robot used to defend the nation.
The first ones built were made to be infantry vehicles and are quite small. We, however, have come a long way since those
models. Our first heavy attack unit, codenamed ZG, will be doing its midway tests today.”
Van heard some scattered
whispering from the other men.
Krueger continued. “Mr. Odaiba, if you would elaborate on the Zoid.”
Odaiba
rose and took to the front of the room. Krueger seated himself.
“Thank you, General. As you know, the ZG has been
in production for almost twenty years. Now it is time to show you what we have created during this time.” Krueger pressed
another button on the remote control. The word Zi disappeared, and the screen turned black. Then, fading in, a machine appeared.
It was much different than from when Van first saw it.
The machine itself resembled Godzilla to an extent. Its body was
in an upright position, with massive arms sticking out. The body was beige in color, and the legs and back was a dark forest
green. A single row of stegosaur like plates ran down its spine. The head large and rectangular, with an orange visor like
unit, which was the cockpit. The long tail was like a snake, and a support unit was mounted beneath it at the halfway mark.
“Gentlemen, I present the Gojulas.”
Van was in aw at the weapon. Yes, this thing would be the new defender
of the US.
“The Gojulas stands at 70 meters, the same height as Godzilla. The entire structure is covered with a
new type of armor, NT-20 Diamond Armor. The armor can actually withstand extreme heat and temperatures, such as seen in Godzilla’s
beam, but this is only the prototype armor. Its body was designed for utilizing heavy weapons and still be able to perform
at close combat. However, for that, the Gojulas is still a slow moving unit, and requires the aid of two shuttles to move
it around. I will now allow Dr. D to explain the weapons.”
Dr. D took center stage as Krueger handed him the remote.
He pressed a button. From the right side of the screen, two massive cannons flew in and mounted themselves on each of the
Gojulas’ shoulders.
“Here, gentlemen are the Gojulas’ primary weapons. These are the Super Cannons,
each capable of hitting a target up to half a mile away. They fire high intensity shells that can easily take out a city block
with a few shots. In addition to those, each cannon has a small missile launcher near the back. The main downfalls to the
Super Cannons are that they need to cool off after prolonged use, in addition to the fact that they are extremely heavy.”
Herman looked like a child who had found a new toy at the store. Stoning simply made a wicked smirk that made Van think.
How could this cocky hotshot be the pilot?
“The Gojulas is also armed with a four shot impact cannon mounted on
the left arm. This weapons fire high impact shots in rapid succession. There a four small turrets mounted on the chest, and
the tail is heavy enough to be used as a weapon if need be. A flame projector is located in the mouth, but this is much more
of a back up weapon than anything. It only has limited fuel, so it is best left to roasting marshmallows. AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”
A universal groan was heard from the military men from Dr. D’s awful joke. Van could tell the man was senile, but
a genius at the same time.
Kruger spoke. “Now that you have seen what the Gojulas looks like, why don’t we
have a look at what it can do in action?”
The six men left the room and entered the control room. They stood in
front of the massive screen before them. The screen lit up and, once again, a white diamond flew in and exploded into the
word Zi. It then disappeared and switched to a camera. Outside the base, the Gojulas was situated in a vast open desert area,
away from peering eyes. Roughly five hundred meters away, there was a series of concrete cubes.
“Now, let us begin
the test of the Super Cannons.” Krueger said. He spoke into a com. “Fire when ready.”
The Gojulas instantly
started to move. It massive right leg rose and took and giant step. The ground shook. A mechanical roar came from its mouth,
which lit up when it roared. The two Super Cannons rose from there positions and aimed forward. The pilot of the machine fired
off one shot from each cannon. The noise was deafening, even in the control room. A few seconds later, the array of concrete
cubes was overtaken in a massive explosion.
Van gasped at the awesome power. Stoning smiled wickedly. The Gojulas roared
into the air, its shrieking cry echoing throughout the base. As the metal behemoth began to move, Van noticed one thing. It
was slow. Very slow.
“There, gentlemen. That is our new weapon. We have yet to finish fine-tuning the Super Cannons
and work on increasing its speed some. In the mean time, why don’t we-“
Krueger was cut off from a sudden
alarm. Red lights flashed on and off, signaling a code red emergency. Herman grabbed a nearby communications man running into
the control room.
“What’s going on?” He ordered.
“Godzilla has been sighted off the coast
of California. We expect him to be here within the hour.”
Van was speechless. The monster was returning once again.
“Damn!” Krueger exclaimed. “Of all times, why now? The Gojulas is not even at full capabilities.”
“But it is battle worthy, sir.” Trey Stoning said. He went to the communications station and spoke into a
com. “This is Stoning. Prepare the White Herons for Gojulas movement. Yes, you heard me correctly and I don’t
give a damn if it isn’t finished, we are taking the fight to the enemy.” He began to leave the com room to the
hanger.
“Stoning, you can’t be serious.” Krueger stated, obviously annoyed by Trey’s brash actions.
“The Gojulas can not go up against Godzilla. We don’t know how it will work against him.”
“Save
it, General. We are going to make do with what we have.” And he was off.
“Son of bitch is going to ruin our
only hope.” Van said quietly.
***
In the waters near the California coast, a monster approached. Black scales
stood out against the blue waters. Silver spines that looked liked frozen flame split the surface like a shark fin. Yellow
eyes guided the malevolent monster.
Godzilla was returning.
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