Zero X

Zero X, also styled Zero-X, was a space exploration ship active in the 21st century, primarily used for missions to Mars. Separate Zero X expeditions were led by Paul Travers and Captain Black; they took place either during the 2060s or the 2080s and in a disputed chronology to each other. (PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars, Ambush!, Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost! et al.)

When explaining the differences between other craft of the same period, Universal Secret Service agent Brent Cleever said that Zero X was built to explore Mars, and at the time was fitted with "slow but sure" engines. In contrast, the World Space Patrol vessel Fireball XL5 was built to patrol the solar system so its engines emphasised speed. (PROSE: Letters Special)

Early attempts
In an account dated to 2088, Paul Travers swore to defeat the run of bad luck which had previously dogged the Solar System Exploration Centre. Action 21, who were beginning exclusive coverage of Travers' expedition, noted that the first Zero X mission was scrubbed due to sabotage while the second mission reached Mars but crashed back on Earth.

This account placed Captain Black's expedition as the third mission and Travers' as the fourth. (PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars) However, other accounts, which were mostly dated to 2067, depicted Travers' expedition as happening before Black's. (PROSE: Ambush!, Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!)

In early 2088, the MEV was the subject of trials in the Arctic, during which time it was pictured. Zero X itself was also photographed in flight shortly before Travers' mission to Mars. Both of these images later appeared in Action 21. (PROSE: Zero X Beats Space Curse!)

Captain Black's time at the helm
In either 2067 (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!) or 2087, (PROSE: Rogues Gallery) Captain Black led an SSEC team to Mars with the aim of hunting the source of the "strange" radio signals (PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars) which had come from the area in the past year. According to one account, the expedition set out for the Rock Snake Hills in Mars.

On 2 September 2067, Glenn Field reported the loss of the expedition. Something Glenn Field did not divulge was the organisation which Black belonged to. The strange badge seen on Black's hat in a photograph was identical to the aircraft which attacked a target plane over Cornwall as well as "the new air station" spotted over Nice. (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!) It was eventually made public that Black had been a member of SPECTRUM. (COMIC: SPECTRUM, PROSE: SPECTRUM is Green) On the matter of the expedition's fate, TV 21 speculated that whatever was causing the signals had "accounted" for Black and his crew. (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!) Indeed, although the mission was ostensibly a success as they were able to discover the source of the signals, Black inadvertently started the Mysteron War while in command of Zero X (PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars) by firing upon the Mysteron City in a moment of panic. (PROSE: Rogues Gallery)

However, Captain Black eventually returned to Earth in Zero X. While TV 21 reporters Pete Tracker and Lens Sharpe were attempting to follow a SPECTRUM aircraft over Miami in TGW 197 K, Zero X had re-entered the atmosphere. Tracker and Sharpe experienced engine troubles which forced them to land but when their craft's pilot informed Glenn Field of this he was told "Get off, you fool — get off! A spaceship's coming into land!". The small passenger jet collided with one of Zero X's massive engines, causing both ships to crash near the runway. All four people involved in the incident survived but, in the confusion, Black stepped from his craft and vanished from the base. A full scale search was ordered to no avail. Colonel White, the head of SPECTRUM, suspected a plot and brought Tracker and Sharpe in for questioning but quickly let them go after realising they were not involved. (COMIC: SPECTRUM) The mystery surrounding the Mars expedition remained for some time. (PROSE: SPECTRUM is Green)

As Black re-emerged and the Mysteron War continued, it was the opinion of Doctor Giardeles that he had been killed by the Mysterons and was being used by them as an indestructible mouthpiece. (PROSE: Rogues Gallery)

Travers' tenure as Captain
Leaving Earth once again, Travers and his crew had been saved from death by International Rescue on their last mission, but Mayor Lionel Lurie of Kahra warned that they should not expect similar help once they got to Mars, in an account dated to 2088. He stated at a press conference that if the Martian Exploration Vehicle got into trouble they would not be able to send out search parties. He said this was because people found any excuse to get back to Earth after the Mysteron War started, meaning that the men and machines left in Kahra were only those needed to keep the city running. Lurie also claimed Kahra could not afford the fuel to launch such a rescue mission. Travers acknowledged Zero X would be alone in the unexplored regions of Mars but optimistically concluded "if we learn a little more and beat that jinx, it'll be worth it". (PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars)

Zero X was indeed struck by the jinx again, with Navigator Brad Newman, who was aboard the main body, reporting that contact with the rest of the crew was lost six hours prior when the MEV disappeared into a freak dust storm. After hearing the news, Kahra's controller reiterated his earlier statement, saying the city had enough to worry about with the Mysteron City on its doorstep. (PROSE: Zero X: Four Crew Missing) According to an account dated to 4 February 2067, with the abandonment procedure operative, Newman remained in sole control of Zero X as the captain and the other crew were still missing on the surface of the planet. It was noted that he would have to consider them deceased if radio contact had not resumed by the time the oribital schedule ran out. (PROSE: Stingray Storm!)

Travers was back in command by 25 February 2067, (PROSE: Ambush!) or February 2089 according to one account. Upon his return, he proudly proclaimed "We made it! We beat the jinx!". (PROSE: Zero X Beats Space Curse!) After a six week journey from Mars, Zero X was ordered to cancel atmosphere re-entry procedure and change course for orbital satellite 158. Officials of the Solar System Exploration Centre only revealed that Travers has been instructed to pick up sealed orders but rumours suggested that his new mission had something to do with revolutionary new rocket engines too dangerous to be tested on Earth. (PROSE: Ambush!)

In April 2067, Colonel Jennings became the new commander of Zero X after Travers was sentenced to death for a breach of discipline. However, on 22 April, shortly before the final run-up of the ship's motors before take off, Jennings was "overpowered and bundled from the craft". Its neutronic engines immediately burst into life and Zero X raced down the runway. Travers was believed to be responsible for the hijacking but officials were unsure if the rest of the crew were forced to obey Travers' orders or whether they had joined him freely. After the ship's getaway, the World Space Patrol were alerted to stop and arrest Zero X on sight. (PROSE: Mars Ship Hi-Jacked)

On 12 August 2067, fifteen people were reported dead with a further four hundred missing after Zero X ploughed its way through the crowded Miami Beach. Out of control, the craft swung in over the sea. The lifting bodies then tilted and the ship skimmed low over the waves before bouncing ashore. As it tore a ten foot furrow up the beach, fragments of Zero X snapped off, cartwheeling into a group of fleeing holidaymakers and exploding in a white-hot sheath of flame. The main body continued on, coming to a stop when the nose dived deeper into the sands. The Glenn Field Military Police quickly sealed off the area, with nobody allowed in or out, as it was feared the ship built for space exploration had brought back "more terror" than what was already inflicted on Miami. (PROSE: Miami Beach Disaster)