RTZ-001 Hovercargo
Type: Snail
Length: 94.5 meters
Height: 49.5 meters
Weight: 2750 tons
Speed:
410 kilometers per hour
35 knots (seafloor)
15 knots (surface)
10 knots (submerging, diving)

Equipment:
Front Dock
Top Catapult
Rear Catapult
Side Doors x2
ASZ 210mm Electron Cannon x2
ASZ 210mm Catapult Launcher x2

Armor Description:
The Hovercargo has some of the hardest and thickest armor around. On the shell, it’s actually quite a bit more durable than the stuff on the Whale King, and it’s only a few shades under the advanced composites found on the Killer Dome and Malder. Of course, the Hovercargo being a colossal, transport-sized Zoid, it’s got heavier armor than anything its size and smaller. Even compared to the monstrous Whale King, this thing’s tough. However, the “mantle” parts of the Zoid, i.e. the head and especially the neck, aren’t quite as well armored, having softer armor comparable to the Whale King and Archelon, and not as much of either, for that matter. Still, it’s a mighty tough Zoid.

Mobility and Power Source:
The Hovercargo is older than time itself; varying incarnations of the machine having been in service longer than anyone can remember. Evidenced by the occasional wild giant land snail roaming the searing flats of Delpoi, the Hovercargo has a sturdy, reliable mobility system as ancient and rugged as its weathered shell. It employs a bizarre incarnation of a reverse-magnesser “foot” that draws enough energy to power a subdivision. While somewhat inefficient (evidenced by the large gusts of wind and considerable noise when in use), the Hovercargo’s drive is not only fast, but can be run for ages. Its best overland speed is in the range of 300-350 kilometers per hour, but it can “sprint” up to 410 kph for periods up to eight hours. It can even traverse the seafloor at 35 knots, down to a depth of one kilometer. Finally, it is capable of surface travel and surfacing/diving at fifteen knots and ten knots, respectively.

Logistics:
The Hovercargo of today is a comfortable, safe, and effective mobile base. Its bridge, located halfway up the giant shell, contains a powerful sensory suite. In its stock configuration, the sensory suite can detect anything within a twenty-five kilometer radius, though it lacks the ability to transmit this information without someone physically manning the console. The information doesn’t really provide a useful boost to accuracy, as it’s simply sensory feed, but it can help the pilots target more effectively. In addition to the sensory suite, the Hovercargo has a pantry, a small galley, and enough facilities and bunks to comfortably house six people. Its hangar can accommodate up to four moderate-to-small sized Zoids, or one monster like a Gojulas and a few small Zoids. It employs a rotating platform system to house them all. Finally, the Hovercargo has an inbuilt GPS system and autopilot (limited to no more than 200 kph) and it can, to a limited extent, drive itself.

Front Dock
The Hovercargo’s head contains part of the extensive sensory suite, and has sufficient space for a Zoid up to the size of a Shield or Blade Liger inside its “mouth,” provided said Zoid has all its blades and boosters and other variegated fiddly bits retracted. That said, the head can retract back to meet the main shell, allowing Zoids to transfer to and from the main hangar. This allows the mouth ramp to serve as an airlock, as once inside, it can be sealed off to allow in- or egress to naval Zoids.

Top Catapult
The Hovercargo’s most spectacular method of egress is the catapult on the top of the shell. It uses a large electromagnetic induction/magnesser hybrid system to propel whatever’s on said ramp violently out. Capable of handling Zoids up to Liger size, the Hovercargo can safely fling your machine anywhere from thirty to two hundred meters off its bow. That’s “safely.” It’s been documented as being quite a bit more powerful than that, of course. Your mileage may vary, depending on how good your Zoid is at crash-landing from fifty meters altitude.

Rear Catapult
The Hovercargo has an auxiliary exit in its tail, which is largely the same as the top catapult. It is, however, behind the Hovercargo, which is useful when you need a bit of cover to protect your squishy little behind. Another advantage is that this one is only five or so meters off the ground, making it easier for less catlike Zoids to achieve egress. It’s not quite as powerful as the main catapult, but it’ll still fling a Zoid some three-hundred-odd meters if you let it.

Side Doors x2
Either side of the shell can fold down into an absolutely giant, armored disk, which is really the only way you're getting certain HUGE Zoids like Gojulae out. Though this allows you to offload just about anything, the entire hangar is then exposed to attack. Fear not, however, for the standard Hovercargo comes with heavily-armored blast shields over the more sensitive components, such as ammunition storage. Even internally, the Hovercargo can laugh off basically anything short of a Long Tom blast.

ASZ 210mm Electron Cannon x2
The “Anti-Ship/Zoid” Electron Cannons are honest-to-God naval emplacements serving as the Hovercargo’s snail antennae, and as such are meant to fend off much heavier stuff than standard-fare Zoids. Such as standard-fare Whale Kings, for example. Being locked in place, facing forward, and heavily braced to absorb the recoil and diffuse the heat, they can’t incline more than 20 degrees below the horizon and sixty degrees upwards. They have two modes of fire:
Standard: The standard mode of fire involves the main cannons using a tremendous charge to propel high-density 210mm shells to enormous velocities using a railgun system. They’re accurate out as far as the horizon, and require three seconds to build charge, and a total of thirty seconds afterwards to reload. Being naval guns, these things can wreck basically anything short of, say, a Gustav or something, but shouldn’t be much of a problem for small craft that can get out of the way.
Electron Cannon: For dealing with those pesky melee-types that think they’re Eve’s gift to Zoid battling. Well, Zeus apparently had a few words with Eve and licensed this mode for use on the Hovercargo. Upon command from the cockpit, the electron guns earn their name. During three seconds of building charge, a haze forms between the two antennae, followed by electrical arcs going off with a cracking sound. Finally, the haze turns shimmering, like heat waves, and a Jacob’s ladder effect forms between the antennae. The Hovercargo is now ready to discharge enormous, short range bolts of electrostatic energy from its antennae. The bolts aren’t like the Electron Discharge, or the Tesla Cannon – there’s no extended-duration “shocking” sound. These are more like bolts of frelling lightning. The blue-white bolts go off in a fraction of a second and emit a thunderous BANG when fired. The Hovercargo can discharge one bolt every six seconds, and can maintain this mode up to thirty seconds, before requiring up to three minutes to cool back down, depending on how long electron cannon mode was maintained.

ASZ 210mm Catapult Launcher x2
These are for dealing with Zoids too quick or maneuverable for the heavy cannons up front. Each catapult launcher is a pair of Anti-Ship/Zoid cannons mounted to a large turret on the upper rear of the Hovercargo. They’re intended to protect the sides and rear of the transport, and are less powerful than the electron cannons to achieve their mobility. Make no mistake, they’re still some terribly heavy ordnance. They’re powered by the same technology as the catapult rail, and don’t require any sort of charge time or anything. They fire solid 210mm slugs at high velocities, and each features a twenty-four second reload time. If staggered, they can achieve one shot every six seconds. It should be noted that the heavy turrets they’re mounted to aren’t extremely fast at rotating, so very quick Zoids can outrun the turreting speed.