It's been years since I've come back onto and I think it's about time I finally put up a fanfiction in honour and worship of my favouritest Colonel of all time.

I shall be using Australian English, which has different spelling to that of American English. One example of which is "honour" which I'm pretty sure is spelt "honor" in American.

I welcome any and all constructive criticism of my work, especially in pointing out plot holes and/or contradictions between this story and the actual anime. Feel free to yell "Objection!"

I'm also aware of there being a relatively unknown official pairing of Karl's in the manga series. A female imperial soldier by the name of Kirsche Hartriegel. Under normal circumstances when I discover a character already has a potential pairing determined for him by the original creator I would respect it and not mess around with it. However, as I am using the anime version, he is not shown to have such a pairing and would therefore indicate open season... right?

So as a pre-warning, as I'm not sure if I am breaking my own rules or not, there is a pairing of Karl x OC at some point in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids or any of the characters in relation.

A/N: For anyone interested, I have added a brief index at the end of some chapters that contains data on the specifics of zoids and/or pilots of relevance.

Affinity

Chapter 1: Ambush

Three hours past dawn and already the desert sun was beating down on the shimmering sand.

No wind blew today, clear vision was guaranteed.

This was not a good thing.

A mottled sand-yellow Liger lay half buried in the West side of a dune, ensuring that it is not visible to anyone moving west, tough it was hardly visible to anyone headed east anyway. Only the top of the zoid's mottled head was showing, almost perfectly camouflaged against the still sand.

If the sands shifted even a little then it would have blended in perfectly.

This was a flaw that the pilot would have to compensate for.

Nothing was allowed to go wrong today.

Nothing.

"Target approaching five minutes away and counting. Stay vigilant people." The com buzzed. "He ain't gonna be an easy egg to crack"

The pilot chuckled.

"Isn't that why the pay was so high?"

"So you see why we can't afford to screw around with this one." The com buzzed off.

The pilot inspected all the systems for the last time. Sand filters- clear, energy levels- adequate, thrusters, armour, weaponry all fully functional.

It was estimated that the target was to move in a westerly direction through this area with an allowed deviation of five hundred meters. This was meticulously calculated. No room for error was allowed.

Looking up the pilot scanned the dunes visually spotting faint signs of other zoids hidden in the sand, stuttered in an irregular line. All of them had the top of their heads exposed. This was necessary to keep sand from trickling into the spark systems located just above the cockpits. Usually a little sand was fine but no one was going to take any chances.

They were all buried on the west side to compensate for the disappointing lack of motion in the sand.

The ambush was planned to be after he passed the initial line of hidden zoids. The Ligers were deployed in pairs as their functions complimented each other, one to shield, the other to stun.

The Hellcat and Shield Ligers have the job of finishing him. The pilot had no powerful weaponry installed on the Spark Liger; this unit's primary function was to disable other zoids.

A total of seven men are deployed on this assassination mission, three Shield Ligers, three Spark Ligers and one Hellcat.

The target is one of the best soldiers in the empire, if not the best. His skills were legendary.

The pilot took a quick gulp of water.

What a day for perfect visibility.

At the age of twenty-nine, Colonel Karl Schubaltz was the youngest officer of his rank and one of the most revered pilots of the Empire. Having played a crucial role in defeating the Deathsaurer, not only once but twice, his skills were unquestioned-

And now about to be thoroughly tested.

Completely oblivious of the hidden danger ahead of him, the young colonel travelled the predetermined course in Iron Kong. He was called to a confidential meeting with the Guardian Force.

Thus he travelled, without his usual cohort of soldiers.

Completely unaware that he had been betrayed.

The crucial information regarding his destination, manner of travel and time plans had been leaked out to external sources.

And now the plans have been set in motion.

"Target in sight"

Karl's alertness was not at a hundred percent. He had already been travelling for two hours having set out at almost the crack of dawn. Yet he still glanced at his radar frequently while scanning the sand for any signs of motion. A habit drilled into him from years of military training.

He stifled a yawn; the complete stillness of the monotonous landscape was not the most stimulating.

His eyes were already telling him what he was expecting to see... ridge upon ridge of fine loose sand.

This was why his eyes did not pick up the almost invisible irregularities sitting upon the base of the dunes he passed.

But when he finally heard the shifting of the sand, the whirr of motors and the groan of hydraulics, it was too late.

He spun his Iron Kong around, ready to line up sight against the source of the noise. Not intending to fire in case it was an innocent passer-by. The mid-morning sunlight immediately blinding him.

Through his squinting eyes, he spotted two Ligers rushing towards him, glistening sand still trickling off their chassis.

They were quite obviously not just passing by.

Without a second thought Karl fired his Kong's beam cannon at the closest Liger. It ripped through the Liger's right forepaw joint at the shoulder, completely tearing its front leg off. It fell on its side struggling to regain its feet.

Karl quickly turned his attention to the second Liger. It stood directly in line with the sun so Karl could not look directly at it.

Quickly manoeuvring his zoid Karl positioned it to avoid the direct glare of the sun and to evade any potential attacks directed at him.

Now he spotted more Ligers emerging from the sand hidden in the dunes in a visible line, all waiting in ambush for when he stepped past them and into this trap.

Cursing his lapse of concentration he retreated as far back east as he could, hoping to put the sun's glare behind him. Unfortunately his opponents felt the same way. They manoeuvred quickly, blocking off his retreat.

Unable to see his enemies Karl fired blindly into the sun, all the while keeping his Iron Kong mobile to evade any attacks.

He did not expect attacks to come from behind.

Two bullets ploughed into the back of his Kong, damaging the thrusters.

Completely disorientated Karl spun around scanning the sand for more Ligers. He saw nothing. This added to his distress as he turned back towards the glare of the sun to face his more existent enemies.

He paid dearly for that moment of distraction.

That split second was all that was needed for two Ligers to close in.

Still squinting, Karl let off a volley at the Ligers.

The two Ligers immediately fell into an obviously well rehearsed formation, the slighter build one falling directly behind the bulkier one. The shields went up. Karl's shots bounced harmlessly off.

This was a common formation used for Shield Liger warfare, however Karl did not have long to dwell on this fact.

The Shield Liger ploughed into his Kong, though he had been ready for this. He plunged his Kong's hands through the Liger's shields catching it before it reached the main body. The dense alloy of the armoured limb peeled off as it entered through the shield.

Karl grabbed on and smashed the Shield Liger into the ground with the powerful arms of the Iron Kong. At the same instant he fired the shoulder cannon at the other offending zoid that hid in the shadow of the Shield Liger.

That Liger did not even try to avoid the attack. It took the hit directly below the cockpit, blasting off its lower jaw. However it continued to run straight at Karl.

Abandoning his hold on the first Liger, he swung at the second sending it flying.

However the moment his zoid made contact, a surge of electricity ran through his zoid. The system stalled for a fraction of a second but that was all it took for another Liger to approach.

It latched on with its teeth and blasted an electric current through the Kong.

The system froze. Karl hit the reboot, willing it to reanimate quickly. It did not respond. In desperation he hit the manual reboot.

The panel began to short circuit. Karl lost control of the Kong's movements completely and it crashed to the ground.

He covered his face with his arms as the controls began to spark and blow.

It went dark, and there was nothing more that Karl could do.

The Liger withdrew its fangs. The Iron Kong was subdued; the pilot's duty was over.

Breathing a sigh of relief the Liger took four steps back to get a good enough distance away from the soon to be dead man. Even with all that planning, he was an extraordinary opponent.

The canteen of water clattered around the floor of the cockpit. It was evidently not stowed away properly after its use. Completely ignoring this, the pilot continued to watch the Iron Kong, knowing what was next.

The remaining two Shield Ligers prowled around the fallen Kong. The first of the Ligers used its claw to push the Kong onto its back. They both turned their cannons to the armoured cockpit of the unfortunate Colonel and fired.

Shards of half-melted metal flew off the chest armour as it was blasted. Large melted dents riveted through the dense armour however the Liger's cannons did not penetrate.

It was at this time the Hellcat finally materialised, standing before the Iron Kong. Mounted on its back was a high-powered beam cannon. It pressed the cannon against the Kong's lower chest plate.

It was over.

Or so they thought.

In a miraculous instant the Iron Kong swung back to life, its hand grabbing a hold of the cannon, twisting the metal closed the moment it fired, blasting the end to pieces. The blast tore through the left of the cockpit, ripping the entire back plate of the Iron Kong off. The jarring of machinery rang out as the Iron Kong tore at the head of the Hellcat, intent on crushing it.

The Spark liger rushed to the Hellcat's aid. The spark plug atop the head charging up, current flowing through its fangs, it lunged at the Kong.

This time it was ready.

The powerful arm swung around to meet it, too early to make contact. Too late did the pilot realise that the small laser cannon mounted on the wrist was the Colonel's real intention.

The shot hit the head squarely destroying the spark plug.

Before the pilot had a chance to react, the Iron Kong grabbed the Liger by the throat and crushed it into the sand.

The shoulder cannon aimed and fired at the cockpit of the liger with every intention to kill. However by the miraculous luck of the pilot, the cannon's calibration had been knocked askew. It did not find its mark but rather fired directly into the sand.

The earth shuddered.

Sensing something was wrong both pilots hesitated. Then, without warning, the earth began to sink.

The Spark Liger disappeared underneath the roiling ground as the Iron Kong struggled to free itself.

It was futile.

Grabbing uselessly at the loose sand the heavy Kong sunk into the shifting desert and fell through into a dark abyss.

-Zoid Data-

This section was created to give readers some idea of the power comparison of each zoid mentioned in the fiction. After all, not everyone has the privilege of having an entire zoid encyclopaedia at one's beck and call.

Iron Kong Mk II (Aka, Iron Kong PK)

Alliance: Imperial

Pilot: Karl Schubaltz

Weight: 209.0t

Speed: 170km/h

Main Weaponry: (Power based on a point evaluation system)

Beam Launcher - 120 (220 when fully modified, and Karl has his modified =D)

10-slot Rocket - 60

Pulse Laser gun - 130 (The wrist gun)

H. Knuckles - 230

Armour defence: 145

Note: While actually searching for the specific type of Iron Kong used by Karl, I took the episode Devil's maze into account. I noticed that Karl's Iron Kong had been a model specifically modified for him. The specific Kong could not actually be accurately identified in the game version due to no such model existing, however, based on the modifications and the beam cannon on the shoulder as well as it's unique thrusters, the only Iron Kong visually close enough to meet those criteria was the PK model. I based all zoid battle simulation estimations upon that model. Although, within the game Karl had his own Iron Kong series, the Iron Kong SS (Schubaltz Series) its main gun is a beam Gatling gun with fire power less powerful than this PK's cannon, therefore unworthy of Karl's almighty piloting power. Also, keep in mind Karl probably also installed extra guns on his Iron Kong since it lacks speed firing armaments.

Spark Liger

Alliance: Republic.

Pilot: Unknown

Weight: 91.0t

Speed: 250km/h

Main Weaponry: (Power based on a point evaluation system)

Shock Gun - 140 (The Spark liger had its Shock Gun removed and passed on to the Shield Liger)

Laser Claw - 180

Potential Diffuse - 25 (This is the zoid freezing mechanism)

Laser Sabre - 190

Armour defence: 70

Note: The overall raw stat on this zoid is far better than Karl's piece of crap, I mean respectable monkey... zoid... However, like Karl said, he doesn't rely on the zoid to do the work for him.

Although the zoid itself is rather powerful in terms of close range combat, its main strength lies in its ability to freeze zoids. In the game, the animation portrays the liger to release its electric currents via air and let it somehow strike the opposing zoid. This would be very much scientifically impossible unless this zoid has the ability to ionise the air and change the opposing zoid into a cathode (anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about are obviously not yet doing chemistry or haven't been paying enough attention in class). Because of this, I used the Laser Sabre weaponry as a medium for that Diffuse ability.

Shield Liger (Ok I know everyone knows this one, but let's just compare stats)

Alliance: Republic.

Pilot: Unknown

Weight: 92.0t

Speed: 250km/h

Main Weaponry: (Power based on a point evaluation system)

Shock Cannon - 100 (This is why it needs the Spark Liger cannons, its probably then further modified it to 240)

Electron Shield- 150 def

Laser Sabre - 150

Armour defence: 25

Note: This thing is cannon fodder compared to Sparky, but still, it has a reasonable shield.

Hellcat (Also known as Atak kat in the game, not sure if this is a translation error or the original translation)

Alliance: Imperial

Pilot: Unknown

Weight: 24.0t

Speed: 190km/h

Main Weaponry: (Power based on a point evaluation system)

2 Beam cannon - 60 (This armament was removed and replaced with an Hyper cannon 350 damage, this particularly heavy gun would seriously slow this zoid down)

Laser Medium cannon - 30

Optical Camouflage - +50 evasion (This is the invisibility mechanism)

Tackle - 60

Armour defence: 18

Note: It is WEAK! The only thing that makes this zoid useful is its invisibility mechanism (which, by the way, doesn't work well at all in the game). However, the particular Hellcat in question installed a powerful cannon that would probably weigh almost as much as it did. As a result, this thing won't be able to go faster than a leisurely stroll. This is the reason that in this chapter, this zoid did not do very much. It also should be noted that the Hyper cannon is so powerful that it should be used in long range battles. When the Hellcat pilot in this chapter aimed the cannon right at the Iron Kong at close range, he risked extensive damage to his own zoid upon fire.