Overview of Marz

Zadokh was Major General of the Imperial Konautz, which were biomechanical giants in the service of Marz' Imperator ßeroß.

Zadokh and his designated A-Wing (consisting of 1,000 Konautz) were currently ascending into orbit through Marz' atmosphere. They were on a reconnaissance mission to determine the nature of a possible threat closing in on their planet from the vicinity of Olde Earth. About two decades ago, Earth had been obliterated by Marz' previous imperator. Lamentably, that sphere and its inhabitants had fallen into quite a stagnant state. Only a thin new asteroid belt was left of the ancestral homeworld. It's just as well, Zadokh said inside his head, anyway we Hybryd-UZ are superior to Homo Sapiens in every regard.

Rather soon the thousand Konautz passed through the atmosphere's uppermost layer. From within his cockpit (which was housed in the bio-mech's head) Zadokh could now see the stars standing out in stark clarity. He turned around slowly and beheld the breathtaking sight of Marz in full view. The red planet seemed to pulsate with a cosmic heartbeat all its own. The twin moons Deymoz and Phoboz were in conjunction at the moment. Down below the Sea of Azydalyuh gave off a silvery shimmer. It had been fomented a millennium ago by thawing the polar ice cap; Planum Boreum. There were even patches of greenery everywhere that advanced terraforming techniques had been applied.

Zadokh felt like an insignificant insect by comparison. This was the first time in a generation that anyone had left the surface to go into space. From his studies of Olde Earth's history, Zadokh imagined that this must have been how NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts felt when they first looked back at the beautiful blue orb of planet Earth. It was a humbling feeling to be sure, that brought a bittersweet tear of elation to his eye.

However, Zadokh was abruptly shaken from his profound reverie when radio communications started coming through from the Imperator's headquarters atop Olympyuh Monz:

"How are things looking up there Major?" Imperator ßeroß asked his close friend and subordinate.

"I honestly don't have the words to describe such magnificent beauty. All I can say is that ours is truly a planet worth preserving."

"Happy to hear it my friend, because it looks like it may very well come to that."

"Oh? Sounds like you have an update for me."

"Indeed I do. Long range scanners are detecting a mass of unknown objects, or possibly alien entities, headed directly toward your coordinates. It's almost as if they know that you're there waiting for them."

"Let them come," Zadokh spake. "As you know, these Konautz are armed to the teeth with cutting edge weaponry that begs to be deployed in the field of battle. We'll show them what it means to mess with Marz!"

"Very good Major General. According to my sensors they're only nine thousand kilometres away and at their current speed and trajectory should show up on your visual periphery within mere minutes."

"Roger that. We'll form a defensive perimeter and standby to engage them."

Imperator ßeroß was right on the money. Within a few minutes, a massive horde of large critters became visible. They were not of any one kind either. Many appeared to be huge centipedes, while others resembled amphibians or reptiles. Some looked like big noses with eyeballs and flagellating hairs protruding from their nostrils or then again headless torsos with countless arms. It was difficult for Zadokh to tell ßeroß exactly what they were encountering, but he didn't get a chance to do so anyhow because those grotesque monstrosities made no attempt to communicate.

Instead, they immediately lashed out at the closest Konautz and inflicted serious damage on them, nearly killing their pilots!

"All units, fire at will!" Zadokh commanded.

Marz' space force then opened fire as instructed. Their photonic rays pierced through the enemy's front line and black blood oozed from their wounds. It wasn't so simple to beat them though, because this dark substance kept floating toward Zadokh's forces and infected their mechs, eating away at their limbs. Several pilots had no choice but to eject in escape pods. Hopefully a shuttle would come and collect them later on. Zadokh said:

"Everyone, avoid that black stuff, it seems deadly on its own. Firebrands, light it up!"

Following his order, a special detachment armed with hydrogen-fueled flamethrowers decontaminated the encroaching miasma.

The attackers momentarily abated, but they seemed to be analyzing the situation. One of them, whom had a furry red mane surrounding its pale human-like face, grinned with sharp fangs and attached itself to another monster that had lost its head during the first round. 'Red mane' now wore the jagged outer shell of a dinosaur sized turtle. That abomination announced:

"Hear us ye Homz of planet Marz: we Druuj hath been sent here by Reddest Orkh, Supreme Chief of the Dæmon! It is Orkh's wish that thy defenses be tested before he brings the full brunt of his forces to bear down upon thy sphere. I, Æzoph, am already very impressed by thy martial prowess!"

"So happy we could oblige," Zadokh shot back sarcastically. "But do not think that I, being Major General of the Imperial Konautz, will let you leave from here alive!"

"Splendid," Æzoph appraised. "Come then, show us the true extent of thy strength."

Without any further verbal exchanges, the battle resumed.

Zadokh challenged Æzoph to one on one combat. The Druuj skirmisher was no easy target, despite its bulky carapace. Though the major fired three different types of beams at it, Æzoph managed to evade each of them by tucking its head inside the shell and spinning like a top. When Zadokh ran low on energy, Æzoph spun directly toward him and scraped a bit of paint off the Konautz' armor. Zadokh was barely able to dodge Æzoph's bite when its head snapped forth!

Nevertheless, this instant provided an opening for Zadokh, who then brandished an ultra-blade that sliced cleanly through the evil creature's outstretched neck with a vibrating edge!

Still alive, Æzoph was helpless to prevent a second stroke from splitting his head in half, top to bottom!

Zadokh ignited his thrusters and flew to safety. The rest of the enemies' forces had been effectively routed. A few fled, but Zadokh ordered several units to give chase and finish smiting them. The Major General had a doozy of a report to write out for ßeroß...