Hilda Garde

The Hilda Garde series of airships appear in Final Fantasy IX. They are steam-powered ships created by the Regent of Lindblum, Cid Fabool IX, and christened with the name of his wife, Queen Hilda.

Hilda Garde I
The Hilda Garde I was seen as an amazing piece of technical engineering as it was the first Airship to run without the use of a Mist-engine, effectively meaning that it would be able to work outside of the Mist Continent. Cid and his assistant Engineer Zebolt used ground-breaking technology to construct the Hilda Garde I on steam-power instead. However, after a fight with Hilda, due to her discovering the Regent's womanizing, she turned him into an oglop (a small bug-like creature) and then stole the Hilda Garde I. It was later taken from her by Kuja.

Along with his Silver Dragon, Kuja used the Hilda Garde I as primary transportation across Gaia. When the party is captured at Kuja's Desert Palace, Kuja sends Zidane Tribal and three of his friends on a quest to Oeilvert to retrieve the Gulug Stone. They travel to the Forgotten Continent on the Hilda Garde I, which Zorn and Thorn pilot. When they return with the required Stone, Kuja promptly snatches it and flees on the Hilda Garde I to the Lost Continent, inside the fiery reaches of Mount Gulug. Zorn and Thorn are destroyed by the party at the bottom of the volcano, and Kuja flees, though it is not known whether the escapade is by teleportation or by airship. Either way, the Hilda Garde I is never seen again.

Tetra Master

 * Card 085
 * Location: Gilgamesh at Daguerro

Hilda Garde II
After the theft of Hilda Garde I, the regent soon began working on Hilda Garde II. However, due to his hampered skills as an oglop (and later on as a frog), the Hilda Garde II was poorly constructed and deemed a failure. However, the pressing attack by Bahamut on Alexandria forces Cid and the party to board the rickety airship and fly from Treno to Alexandria to assist in the defense of the city. The Hilda Garde II drops Zidane off on the precipice of Alexandria Castle, where he rescues Garnet and Eiko, who have summoned Alexander. As the Invincible prepares to obliterate Alexander and a majority of the city, Zidane, Garnet, and Eiko grab hold of the Hilda Garde's flylines and lift off into the sky, escaping the destruction unleashed by the Invincible.

Hilda Garde III
After reconciling with Hilda, and being turned back into a human, Regent Cid began working on Hilda Garde III. Many of the materials used to build the Hilda Garde III came from the Blue Narciss, a ship the player could use to ferry Zidane and his party across the the oceans of Gaia. He presents the craft to the party after they return from Alexandria. This is the first airship freely usable by the player on the World Map. This is due to it's ability to fly without Mist, because of this it can venture outside of the Mist Continent like the previous incarnations, specifically Hilde Garde I, but this time you are able to fly it without the hinderance of Zorn and Thorn. The Hilda Garde III is commandeered by Erin and ferries the group to Ipsen's Castle and the Four Elemental Shrines. When the party emerges from the Shimmering Island in control of the Terran-wrought Invincible, the Hilda Garde is returned to Regent Cid. It eventually collects the party at the Iifa Tree after Necron is defeated.

Cid may have constructed a Hilda Garde IV, as indicated near the end of the game when he claims that "my new Hilda Garde is faster than ever." It's unclear whether he means that he's built an entirely new ship, or if he's still talking about the Hilda Garde III.

Tetra Master

 * Card 082
 * Location: Gilgamesh at Daguerro