Name: Nightwise
Alignment: Helic Republic
Family: Owl
Registration Number: BZ-004
Crew: 1
Height: 7.2 Meters
Length: 3.3 Meters
Weight: 15.0 Tons
Top Speed: Mach 2.5 / 3087 kph
Weapons: Twin 30mm Machineguns, Multi-Purpose Missiles, Hardened Alloy Talons
Special Abilities: Sensor Array, Bonding
Level: 2

During the era of warfare on Zi, technology barriers were commonly regarded as temporary problems at best. Throw enough money at a problem and somewhere, somebody will find a solution. Both the Republic and the Empire were great proponents of this idea, which resulted in innovations like the super-agile Konig Wolf and the extremely disruptive Charged Particle Gun.

Of course, sometimes money is irrelevent. Sometimes, it's sheer dumb luck that manages to shatter all expectations. Such is the case with the Blox units: a tiny company, then known for nothing and now still known for nothing, managed to devise the necessary pieces of technology to create the complex Zoids. This technology was promptly sold to both parties of the war, and the company dissolved with everybody involved very, very rich.

While the Imperial technicians used this new technology to build the hellish fiend that is the Chimera Dragon, Republican designers focused on the deadly, elegant Matrix Dragon. The Matrix Dragon was a quintessential piece of Blox technology in that the Zoid wasn't an independant unit, but rather a fusion of four seperate Zoids: Leoblaze, Unenlagia, Nightwise, and Mosasledge.

The Leoblaze and Unenlagia were designed for ground warfare, the Mosasledge patrolled the seas, and the Nightwise took to the skies. Designed, very loosely, as a counterpart to the Imperial Redler, the Nightwise can fit into multiple roles, serving as fighter, bomber, or scout. It was, however, scouting where it did its best work. The Nightwise used a new innovation for the Republic, their first attempt to use the Imperial Stealth Paint for their own devices (and the first attempt to equip an aerial Zoid with such stealth). Add in sensors, missiles, and a few guns, and you had a Zoid that was ready to do whatever needed to be done.

Of course, the Zoid isn't simply a superior Redler, as it has its share of drawbacks. First and foremost, both its agility and armor are a notch under the Redler's, and it's also a good bit slower. It's also rather difficult to modify, since most modifications interfere with its stealth paint. At the same time, the Nightwise boasts the same Magnesser Technology present on the Redler -- an improvement on the aging Pteras design -- and has the one set of abilities the Redler will never have. Namely, it's a Blox. With two fusions and the ability to Bond to a huge number of Zoids, it has the capability to fight in ways other Zoids can only dream of.

Weapons:

Twin 30mm Machineguns:
Tucked under the wings, right next to the main body of the Nightwise, is a 30mm machinegun. Each one has a decent firing rate of ten rounds per second, giving the Nightwise the weapons it needs for a dogfight. Of course, on the flip side they're fixed forward, which can be problematic with the Nightwise's sub-par maneuverability.

Multi-Purpose Missiles:
The Nightwise boasts a trio of multi-purpose missiles under each wing, for a total of six. Capable of locking on to anything on the ground or in the skies and tracking them with a combination of visuals and IR sensors, these weapons are always useful. Of course, as multipurpose missiles they have the standard 4.5 second lock on time, but one can't argue with versatility.

Hardened Alloy Talons:
As an owl, the Nightwise possesses a pair of nasty talons on its feet. Though sharp, using these is tricky at best: they’re hard to use against ground targets and pure suicide to try to use against other aerial targets.

Special Abilities:

Sensor Array:
The Nightwise carries two sensor systems in its head. First, it has enhanced visual sensors that automatically adapt to low-light conditions, allowing the pilot to see just fine even in the darkest night. Additionally, the Nightwise has IR Sensors, allowing it to track Zoids by their heat signature. These two sensors are overlaid on the pilot's display, allowing them to see just about anything that's worth seeing.

Stealth Paint:
The Nightwise benefits from the stealth paint originally designed by the Empire for the Helcat. As such, it is invisible to radar and IR sensors, and is nearly impossible to see at night. Unfortunately the paint isn't quite as effective as the original, which is the version later applied to the Triple S. Because of this, the Nightwise becomes visible on radar if it goes supersonic, allowing radar stations -- and, perhaps more dangerously, some missiles -- to track its position.

Fusion:
Like the majority of the Blox units, the Nightwise has the ability to fuse with other Zoids in two distinct fashions. Most famously, it can combine with the Leoblaze, Unenlagia, and Mosasledge to create the mighty Matrix Dragon. Alternately, the Nightwise can also combine with Leoblaze, Unenlagia, Diploguns, Shellkarn, and Demonshead to form the devestating Gojulox.

Bonding:
The other appeal of the Blox units is their ability to Bond to other Zoids. The Nightwise is capable of granting its wings, missiles, and IR sensors to any other Zoid. No matter what type of Zoid it's Bonding to, the Nightwise mounts to the back, replacing any weapons or modifications mounted there, and disabling the ability to mount any missile, rocket, or torpedo-based modifications elsewhere. As a positive, the Zoid in question gains access to the Nightwise's IR sensors as well as its wings -- on all Zoids, they serve as mounts for the missiles (which are included in the bond). If the bonded Zoid, with all its modifications included, is 25 tons or lighter, it gains the ability to fly much like the Nightwise itself, albeit with a a 25% drop in maneuverability and speed.

Available Modifications: