The Clonoid super-soldier is shocked as a large rail-gun round bursts through his heart! His thick skin may be able to withstand sidearm rounds, but this is significantly bigger! The Clonoid falls, the giant chunk of rubble he was hoisting crushing his head. Zik is taken aback, unable to comprehend what has happened until, through the smoke, he glimpses the familiar sight of the shuttle and two fighters from the Kodiak inbound! James Anchor has arrived just in time!
Zik’s horror is multiplied as the inside of the factory starts to explode! Multiple detonations engulf the entire interior in flames! He turns to run when the whole building is consumed by a massive explosion, leveling the entire structure! Did our hero get far enough away? Or has he been caught up in the blast and crushed by the rubble?
Amelia hustles over to the power conduit and unplugs it from the main panel. Meanwhile, Trent is doing his best to help his fellow prisoners with the Clonoid soldiers. But he runs out of ammo, just as a Clonoid drone reaches for a dropped blaster! Zik attacks the Clonoid supersoldier with a fallen guard rail, but it’s ready for him- it grabs Zik and tries to decapitate him! Unbeknownst to the Clonoid, that isn’t a decorative shoulder pad. It’s an oxygen tank, and it explodes when the Clonoid crushes it! Is Zik OK?
Meanwhile, back on the prison planet, the giant Clonoid soldier is still going on its rampage, unaware that Zik has recovered. Zik brings the beast up-to-date with a crate. Wham! Do I have your attention now? From up on the catwalk, Zik taunts his opponent, hoping to lure him into direct combat. Hopefully it’ll go a bit better this time!
Amelia rips the antenna right out of the Clonoid’s head! It falls backward, tripping over the guard railing and down to the factory floor. The second Clonoid receives orders to kill Amelia and starts to open the door! But Amelia is ready for it! With a mighty kick and a shove, she beats her way through the door and confronts the dazed Clonoid with the shelf she ripped from the wall. Bringing the shelf down on its head, she ends its miserable semblance of a life! This is one damsel that’s not in any distress!
I tried something new with Amelia’s hair… let me know in the comments if you like it!
Greg hasn’t stopped acting completely irrationally, and immediately starts a riot in the factory! Trent explains to Zik that these guys have always been trouble and have now started something that they probably can’t handle. By the time he and Trent make it inside, there’s a full scale battle going on!
A legend is born! It turns out Trent is pretty handy with a pistol! Like a gunslinger right out of the old American West! The Clonoid soldier barely has time to glance over before Trent has shot him straight through the heart. Zik is astounded and gives him the name “Quickdraw” on the spot! Greg irrationally blames Zik for the devastating failure of the attack and runs into the factory!
Many Zozians have several names. In keeping with the North American First Nations traditions that are so prevalent on Zoz, it starts with the name you were given by your parents when you were born. Later, if you accomplish a memorable deed, you are very likely to receive another name or a title to go along with your original name. Zik became Defender Zik (as we will see in Episode 2), and now Trent has become Trent Quickdraw!
Oh no! What a disaster! They get themselves killed trying to start a revolution! Zik curses the rashness of their actions, and probably himself for not seeing it coming, despite Vera’s warning!
Zik and the Clonoid grapple and strive against each other, but the Clonoid is stronger! Just as Zik is about to lose his grip, someone hits the Clonoid from behind with a ruck! That was a close one! Who bailed out our hero? Whoever it is has some serious stones! Find out next time!
Our impressive hero roasts his foe in the face!
So now we see how the EVR system works! EVR stands for Extra-Vehicular Rescue. Basically, if you’re ejected into space, you can use the boots (or jet-pack) to give you a propulsion boost and the (optional) grappling hook to attach yourself to a ship of some kind. It’s a Hail Mary sort of system, but it’s better than drifting in space till you freeze to death!
