After several jumps through hyperspace to conceal their approach vectors, the Zozian fleets arrive in the Zernabian prison system! Dead ahead of the Temerity is the infamous prison planet where Zik encountered the Clonoids for the first time. Tanaka gets a tactical report from Francisco; their fleet, Blue Squad, has all arrived safely. The other Zozian fleets are also reporting in as they arrive, and the massive Kodiak 2 dominates the scene. The Zozian fleets outnumber the token Clonoid sentry, and their capital ship, while large, is dwarfed by the Kodiak 2.
Upon receiving a similar keep-away message as Defender Zik received when he stumbled on the system, his father Mitch takes to the radio. He announces to the Clonoids that the Zozians have arrived to offer transportation and safe harbor to anyone who wishes to leave the planet. The Zernabians respond with a terse warning, claiming that the slaves are owned by Queen Elcyra and any intruders will be fired upon. Taking the high road, Mitch retorts that there can be no legitimate claims of ownership by one sentient creature on another. The Zozians will not be dissuaded and leave the ball in the Clonoid’s court. Tanaka, of course, hopes they choose battle.
The answer is soon given in the form of a stream of massive plasma bolts from the Clonoid capital ship, which detonate on the hull of one of the Makwa corvettes escorting the Kodiak 2. Mitch gives the order to all Zozian fleets: Engage the enemy!
A gleeful Tanaka guns the engines, eager to catch up to the Sharktooth, who jumped ahead. The Battle of Prison Planet has begun!
Defender Zik lands on the central peak of the crater again, debating internally how he should handle this trap of Morren’s. If he stays completely out of the line of fire, Morren will kill Lia, but if he stays in the open, it’s only a matter of time before Morren succeeds.
With very few options, Zik tries to goad Morren into making a mistake. He begins to insult his foe, but just as Morren is about to hurl some invective right back, Sten and Tanaka’s efforts at the top of the crater rim succeed! A huge crack opens in the cliff face!
Meanwhile, on distant moon Gamma Apodis 3B, the Jairian raiding party is busy transferring all the medkits from the ZEMM transport to their Hammerhead cruiser. There are only a few cases left, so Flynn, the Jairian commander on this raid, orders the rest of his comrades to prepare the explosives to destroy the transport.
From the Hammerhead cockpit comes an urgent alert: The Temerity is inbound! Flynn orders everyone to redouble their efforts, because they need every last case! He then taunts Morren Mallor, who is holding his firearm to the head of one of the ZEMM pilots, with the approach of his old foe Zik. Morren vows to kill Zik the next time he meets him, so Flynn seizes the opportunity to rid himself of the burden of his company. He gives Morren the chance to fulfill his vow by leaving him behind! But just to even the odds a bit, he offers to leave two Jairian thugs and the hostages for good measure.
Getting in Morren’s face, Flynn tells him to kill Zik or never return. It’s on!
Defender Zik is led into the lab of the sinister Dr. Wagner, along with Tanaka, still held by Misha the gorillaur. The lab is full of strange equipment and a platform surrounded by large rings. Zik presses Wagner for information, hoping to buy time to prevent him from destroying the planet. But Wagner is unconcerned with the deaths of millions of Zozians, because he’s convinced he’s bestowing enlightenment instead. Zik calls him crazy.
That sets Wagner off on an angry rant about how much he contributed to the secretive Project Zoz that enabled humans to leave Earth and come to Zoz all those years ago. He continues that his new challenge has been unlocking the secrets of immortality, and amazes the others by revealing that he’s over a thousand years old already! An incredulous Tanaka asks how that’s possible, and Wagner replies that he did to himself what he’s done with everything he’s touched over the years: he repaired the flaws he perceived in the original design! Returning to the topic at hand, he promises the shocked duo enlightenment!
The gorillaurs force Defender Zik and Tanaka to the mysterious house, which sits in a patch of the jungle which is withered and dead looking. Waiting for them on the porch is an unexpected figure from Zoz history – Dr. Neil Wagner!
DEFENDER ZIK LORE BREAK!
A Brief History Of Dr. Neil Wagner
Dr. Wagner was born on Earth, in the United States, and traces his ancestry to Germany. He became involved in the secret Project Zoz, and his primary duty was to collect the DNA information and build the biological printer that would be needed to seed Earth life on the new Zozian home-world.
Before the launch of the Project Zoz colony ship, his deep genetic research brought many truths to his attention. He learned how to slow his own ageing process down dramatically, something he’s continued to improve over the centuries. Realizing that sharing this discovery could lead to chaos among the population of Earth, he hid it, not even informing the other members of Project Zoz.
During the trip to Zoz, the plan was for almost everyone to be in cryogenic stasis, and to have rotating caretakers spend five years awake each, ensuring that the ship systems did not become compromised on the centuries-long journey. Dr. Wagner, who was also integral to the design of the stasis system, offered to take the first shift, since that’s when most of the potential problems were anticipated to arise. He also ensured that his name was last in the rotation.
In this way, Wagner ensured that he could stay awake for the entire journey. There were no serious on-board problems for him to deal with, so he dedicated all his time to refining his anti-ageing process, continually extending his possible lifespan. He was after every scientists dream: unlimited time to unlock the mysteries of the universe!
He turned his attention to the genetic data he had collected for all the Earth life, making what he considered to be improvements. Some of the more delicate plants were made hardier. Mosquitos were refined to no longer desire human blood. Orcas would lose their cruelty. And then his highest achievement: the Chadee! Chimpanzees acquired a human level of intelligence, with various other improvements to allow speech and increased fine motor skills in their hands.
When it came time to look at his anti-ageing technology again, he began to scrutinize his own DNA in great detail, improving everything he could. One DNA segment puzzled him, as it seemed injected, and he reasoned it must have come from a virus. He then looked for the same sequence in the other sleeping humans, and he found it in very nearly everyone. So he fixed the problem in everyone he found it in (including several of Zik’s ancestors), without ever waking anyone up.
At the end of the trip, the other people scheduled to take a five-year supervisory shift were puzzled that they weren’t awoken. Individually, they approached Dr. Wagner, and he told them that he had re-jigged the duty roster so that fewer people would have to suffer what amounted to a five-year loss of life doing a boring and unnecessary job. Most reacted with skepticism, but turned their attention to the urgent and difficult task of terraforming their new home.
Then, as Zoz became populated with life, the Chadee were discovered. When Wagner’s upgrades were exposed, the rest of the Zozians were furious with him. During a private interrogation with the leaders of the project, Wagner boldly admitted to having meddled with the genes of everyone who had the genetic anomaly he’d fixed. The elders were stunned, shunned him forever, and agreed among themselves not to tell the Zozians about it until they were ready, because there was already great unease about the difficulty of settling Zoz at the time.
The secret of that genetic tinkering is still only known to a handful of elders, and debate continues among them whether to release the information publicly.
An astonished Zik asks how he could still be alive, since nearly two hundred years have passed since he was last heard from, and Wagner reveals that he has solved the problem of aging! Or rather, that he thought he had. Meanwhile, Wagner has questions of his own, specifically: what are Zik and Tanaka doing sneaking around on his island?
Zik explains their situation, which Wagner was aware of, and apologizes for trespassing, since he was unaware anyone lived here. Then Wagner decides to invite Defender Zik and Tanaka to witness the genesis of Wagner’s plan, which will kill everyone on Zoz, them included! An incredulous Zik follows him into the house…
Not long afterwards, Rachelle the Jairian Fleet Coordinator calls for a stand-down of the remaining Jairian troopers and snub-fighters. They have surrendered! Defender Zik and the crew of the Kodiak have won a hard-fought battle against a huge Jairian fleet and boarding party!
During the prisoner transfer negotiations, Captain James Anchor thanks Rachelle for calling for a cease-fire. He gives her an update on the status of the survivors and assures her that they will be returned safely.
Rachelle is a little concerned when she learns that some of her troopers hare returning in pieces, not all of which are accounted for with certainty! James explains that several troopers wandered into a Chadee barracks, and they didn’t last long against the legendary battle-fury of the Chadee! Muttering a barely-intelligible curse in reply, Rachelle seems beyond furious, and soon signs off.
As they follow the remaining troops to oversee the transfer, James grumbles about how much of a mess the Jairians have made of the Kodiak. He tells Zik that he’s pretty sure the insurance will consider the mighty vessel a write-off! Considering the Jairians blew up one of the two huge howitzers, and the giant hole Trent blew into the hull in the galley, he’s probably correct!
Zik, ever the gallant hero, offers to make it up to his longtime friend…
While Defender Zik battles Morren in the mess hall, down one level and all the way aft, James Anchor is waiting patiently in the engine room. He knows that this is the obvious target for the Jairian raiders to capture, since they can’t get to the bridge.
Sure enough, the scallywags charge in, brandishing their weapons, ready to kill anyone in their way. But Captain Anchor has a little surprise for them – he draws his gun and points it right at them, finger on the trigger!
The Jairians are stunned. No one shoots guns on a spaceship, especially not in an engine room! Doing so is a really good way to blow yourself up! They call James’ bluff.
Except that James Anchor never bluffs! He explains that his gun isn’t loaded with bullets at all. Rather, the gun has small hunter-killer drones in it, and he’s now set them to target the unique bio-signatures of the three Jairians! James describes in detail how the drones, once launched, are a death sentence for anyone unlucky enough to be their target. Even if the Jairians somehow make it out of the Kodiak alive and try to disappear, the drones will hunt for them forever. And the worst part is that once the drones locate their target, they drill in a straight line to the heart. Depending on where they start, that could be quite an uncomfortable way to die!
The Jairians hesitate, and Emma emerges from hiding with a roll of space duct tape. James Anchor instructs them to drop their weapons and let Emma bind them, and really, what choice do they have? It was checkmate the moment they walked into the room.
A large raiding fleet of Jairians is approaching the cargo convoy! The Kodiak is finally in communications range, and James Anchor broadcasts an ultimatum: leave the convoy alone or face the consequences!
Rachelle, the Jairian fleet coordinator recognizes James’ last name. She tries to scare him off with an ultimatum of her own.
But James Anchor is a stalwart guardian! He gives the Jairians a final warning and then issues orders to prepare for battle!
The Jairians approach the convoy… will the Kodiak make it in time to save them?
Zik gets into an argument with the Jairian who’s demanding they surrender the mine. The man won’t back down! He refuses to leave and start his own mine elsewhere, he’s here for the resources available at this mine!
Frank interrupts the discussion and asks the Jairians to leave, or he will have to declare them trespassers.
The unhinged Jairian has had enough! He shoots Frank dead! A shocked Zik watches as his friend collapses in front of him!
Queen Elcyra is pretty confident that she’s got things under control! After all, she has an army of Clonoid drones and soldiers at her command. And as we’ve seen, she has a secret weapon that no one knows about yet! Can Zik prevail?
