Zero X

Zero X, also styled Zero-X, was a space exploration ship active in the 21st century, primarily used for missions to Mars. Seperate 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.

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!)

Captain Black's time at the helm
Captain Black led an SSEC team to Mars with the aim of hunting the source of the "strange" radio signals coming from the planet. Although the mission was ostensibly a success, Black inadvertently started the Mysteron War while in command of Zero X. (PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars)

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!)