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Macross Quarter
Senior Staff Briefing Room
Twelve Hours Later
Giles' POV
"Yawn! So what's with the meeting Giles?" Buffy said settling into her chair with a cup of coffee in hand, "It's six in the morning!"
"I realize that this is not your favourite hour to be up and about Buffy but we've received word from Xander and his team." He replied remembering how his former charge was not a morning person, "Given the ruckus their efforts caused I thought you would like to be here for the vid-com debriefing."
"Damn right I do." She said realizing what was going on, "I thought he was supposed to be subtle!"
"There is a limit to how subtle one can be when part of the mission involves explosives." He pointed out reminding her of the mission outline, "Still I believe that he was only supposed to use one of the bombs if he discovered Einst at the Bodie mine."
"If you only wanted him to use one why did you give him two?" Willow asked looking more awake than the Exia pilot did.
"As a contingency Willow." He replied remembering when he pondered the details of the mission, "There is still much we do not know about the Einst ranging from their abilities to their biology. I wanted to be sure that if one bomb was not enough then there would be a second one ready to fire."
"And if two bombs weren't enough?" Buffy asked pointing out the obvious question.
"Then it will have been made clear that we will need to take a different approach to exterminating the Einst." Professor Eifman replied sitting in for Miss Simmons who was hard at work on something with the science division, "However I would recommend monitoring Bodie for the foreseeable future in order to determine if the bombs really were successful or not."
"Shouldn't be too hard to tap into the communications of the investigation team the Federation sends." Miss Sierra said not sounding too worried, "It'll be encrypted because investigating a bomb going off on American soil would definitely rate at least that but until they get serious it won't be anything I can't crack."
"Good to hear Miss Sierra." He said before tapping a button on his chair triggering the activation of the large screen behind him, "Let's see what Xander can tell us first. Are you there Xander?"
"Where else would I be Captain G-man? Not like I can go anyplace until decontamination is over with." Xander replied with mock confusion.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the Gundam pilot using that infernal nickname in front of others but decided to move things along rather than draw things out.
"What were you able to find out with your investigation of Bodie?" He asked ignoring the young man's response entirely.
"Well for one thing the Einst have an early warning system that's going to make it impossible to sneak up on them." Xander replied apparently understanding it was time to get serious, "According to Doc Moreno he things that they cast off bits of themselves like dead skin cells and fill the area around their lair with them. Didn't show up as anything other than non-terrestrial matter but when it changed direction to head back towards us we figured out what it was."
"How far do you believe the early warning system extends?" Professor Eifman asked with a look consistent with analytical thought.
"The suit sensors picked it up not too long after we started exploring the seventh level of the mine." Xander said with his infamous lack of precision, "The cavern they were in was pretty big so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a way down to the eighth level somewhere. They probably spread the stuff out both above and below them and in the cavern too."
"Hmmm…I wonder if the limited area of coverage is related to the amount of particulate matter they can produce at one time or if it's simply a conscious choice on the part of the Einst." Professor Eifman said voicing his thoughts out loud.
"Whatever the reason it means we can't get close to them at all without them knowing it." Buffy said not sounding pleased in the least, "We'll be forced to just bomb whatever place we think has Einst in it from distance even if we're not sure."
"Not necessarily Miss Summers." Professor Eifman said sounding more optimistic, "With all the information the team's sensors picked up it may be possible to devise a way to mask a person's presence from the Einst's early warning system. Perhaps not completely without more precise readings but perhaps enough to confuse them as to what has wandered into their midst."
"An option worth exploring but it also sounds as though it will take time." He said considering the long term possibilities, "Has any progress been made in taking the edge off of the utilization of Buffy and Willow's powers? If not then we would have sufficient time to modify the suits for covert activity before we can begin searching for the next Einst location."
"I guess we're not in a hurry." Xander said sounding okay with the decision, "It's not like Whistler gave us a countdown timer for when the Einst's main force'll show up. As long as we don't laze about it should be okay."
"How did the ammunition perform in your rifles?" He asked thinking about the second most important part of the mission.
"We did damage but not enough." Xander replied not sounding pleased, "The armour piercing rounds I used did some damage to the orbs but nothing to write home about. Klan's rounds did a decent enough job on the bodies but it looks like they can use nanotech to heal themselves pretty fast. We're going to have go back to the drawing board if we want to kill them without wasting ammo or time."
Not encouraging but not unexpected.
Whistler had made it clear that in the previous dimensions that the Einst had attacked the people of those Earth's had done all they could to defend themselves only to fall. It was likely that they were at least the same level of technological advancement as the one they were currently in if not a little further ahead. As such common rifles and common bullets were unlikely to be enough to kill them swiftly enough for it to be practical on the battlefield. Given how many had been grouped together in the illusion Whistler had shown them it would be imperative for any opposing force to be able to kill each individual Einst in no longer than ten seconds at the most. Ideally if a target could be slain with a single shot it would become feasible for infantry to fight them.
At present though it looked as though only weapons designed to demolish vehicles or buildings would prove effective.
Not exactly the most efficient of tools.
"Is there anything else you wish to report?" He asked just in case Xander had noticed something of interest.
"Yeah. They can teleport." Xander replied looking as though he knew full well the implications of this.
"What!?" Buffy exclaimed in shock.
"When I figured out they were on to us and told everyone to haul ass to the surface portals opened up just long enough to drop an Einst off." Xander replied with all due seriousness, "Don't know about the range but it's at least enough that getting clear of their territory is gonna come down to a fight one way or another."
Teleportation.
In their old world it took a magic user of considerable power and skill to teleport even short distances with the ones capable of longer jumps earning global reputations. If the Einst were capable of similar acts then it would be incredibly dangerous just to enter into battle with them when they could appear anywhere and move about the battlefield at will. Their only hope would be to dispatch the enemy troops as swiftly as possible and pray that the Einst could lose numbers quicker than they could replenish them with their conversion method. Either that or if the Einst had some tactical weak point that could deal a critical level of damage to their entire army they would need a way to strike at it swiftly.
Could he really justify further missions if he could not guarantee the safety of those on the away team?
No. No he could not.
There were no guarantees in war and that is what they were fighting now not the urban guerrilla warfare that had been fought for three years atop the Hellmouth. This was but the first sign of it and it would only grow worse the more time went on. While he would like to be able to say that if they worked hard enough they'd all make it through the war okay that was not realistic. There would be losses and there would be deaths no matter what was done to whether the storm.
"Until such time as we can devise an efficient means of protecting the away teams I am motioning for the creation of a remote flight capable drone to be created." He declared in his official capacity as captain, "Outfit it with the necessary sensors and protections. From this moment onwards direct contact with the Einst is forbidden until such time as both the suits and the weapons are at a level where those on the team possess a reasonable chance of emerging unharmed."
"What if the Einst jam the signal to the drone?" Xander asked pointing out the first problem to come to everyone's mind, "I doubt it'd be that hard for them."
"That possibility is to be taken into consideration with the design of the drone. The most sound measures would be to either have the drone reverse course to the last point of contact or proceed to the destination point with a list of tasks to be done automatically." He replied putting his thoughts into words, "If the drone then fails to emerge within a acceptable amount of time or we have grounds to believe that it has come under attack we follow Xander's example and get a bomb to the last known point of contact any way we can."
Silence followed as each member of the senior staff present contemplated his words.
"Very well. You are the captain and your orders are not unreasonable." Professor Eifman said putting forth his decision, "I will convey your orders to the rest of the science division and the engineering division. We will keep you apprised of our progress."
"Thank you." He said grateful for the man's support.
"Sounds good to me." Xander said with his usual grin, "Hopefully me and the team'll be out of decontamination by then so I can see the drone in action."
"Not a chance! I'm the one that'll go on the next Einst hunt." Buffy said pouncing on the role as the next away team leader, "You made too big a mess with this one! We need to keep a low profile as long as possible on this Earth."
"And you think you can keep a low profile?" Xander asked with an eyebrow raised in skepticism, "I think your fight against that giant personal trooper mech was the exact opposite of low profile."
"I didn't have a choice! We were surrounded by soldiers and that trooper! If I hadn't fought with Exia they would've caught us!"
"Or you might've held out until Skull squadron arrived. The Veritechs look close enough to normal fighter jets no one would have trouble thinking they were made somewhere on this Earth. With Exia there's no way anyone'll believe some Federation company made it."
"And what do you think they'll be saying about your little two boom salute in Bodie? That there's someone or a lot of someones with weapons like nukes? You can't expect them to ignore that and not look for the source."
"She has a point." Commander Badgiruel said speaking up for the first time, "On any Earth possession of a weapon on the same scale as a nuclear bomb was sufficient reasons for world governments to find out the identity of the owner as well as spark debate concerning if aggressive action was needed. Exia being exposed might have clued them into the existence of a new player but the destruction of Bodie will be all the reason they need to escalate matters."
True enough.
It was no small matter when weapons of mass destruction were used and even worse when they were used by someone other than established world powers. When such a weapon was conclusively proven to be in the hands of someone outside of those powers all efforts were taken by the various intelligence agencies to learn the identity of the unknown. Both so they'd know who to stop as well as where they could be found should terminal sanctions be decided upon. With Bodie's destruction the Federation would likely intensify their surface and space security in an effort to prevent another similar explosion and locate the Exia.
"That is why I believe that we must prepare for the eventuality that they will find us." Commander Badgiruel said without hesitation.
"What do you have in mind?" He asked curious to find out what his second in command had come up with.
Since he'd woken up aboard the Quarter and begun to familiarize himself with the crew he'd gotten to know Miss Badgiruel and the bridge crew best. The former second in command of the Archangel and captain of the Dominion had the personality of a woman supremely focused on her military career and doing her duty as an officer. She wasn't as bad as some members of the Council were who only cared about advancing up the ranks and only saw the purpose of a Watcher as means to an end. She still had her human heart and truly believed that remaining true to her duties was the best way to help others.
She still needed to relax a bit though.
Even if a rough command structure had been established aboard the Macross Quarter it was done mostly to ensure that they could accomplish their overall mission more smoothly. He certainly wouldn't oppose it if the crew got a little more informal so long as it didn't affect their performance on the battlefield.
Watching her get up from her chair and walk over to the large monitor behind him he saw her take out a data stick before plugging it into a port next to the monitor. A moment later an image appeared with certain points highlighted with summaries connected to them by lines and he began to understand what she had in mind. It was a possibility he'd considered but had doubts about due to the amount of resources that would be needed in order to bring it to fruition. However listening to Badgiruel explain her proposal and seeing the data laid out on the monitor he found more and more of the questions at the root of his doubts answered.
It wasn't impossible now but rather a challenge that would take quite a bit of doing in order to overcome.
"You make a compelling case Commander Badgiruel." He said after the woman had finished, "However a project of this magnitude will require significant resources and manpower to complete so I will put it to a vote amongst those present here. All in favour of supporting Commander Badgiruel's proposal raise your hand."
Hands were raised.
"All opposed?" He asked and was not surprised at the results.
Thus the matter of finding a suitable location and constructing a suitable base of operations was decided.
The Edge of the Devastated Area
Formerly Bodie, California
Major Ingram Prisken's POV
"It would appear that we've greatly underestimated their power Kazahara." He said looking at the crater that had once been an abandoned tourist attraction.
"That would be an understatement Ingram." Director Kazahara said with grimness at the sight, "If it wasn't due to the fact that there's no residual radiation I'd swear someone had blown a nuke underground."
Indeed that was closest comparison that could be made with the visible evidence.
Large and deep estimates indicated that the blast had expanded up to the surface as well as outward likely facilitated by the mining tunnels providing a path of least resistance for the released energy. A theory had been tossed out about a meteor slipping through a hole in the orbital sensor net but he for one wasn't giving it any consideration. Even with all the speed a meteor was capable of there was no way it could've crashed to Earth without being detected. Even with massive ones such as Meteor-3 they'd been able to detect it both with the orbital satellites as well as via the atmospheric friction.
A bomb of significant strength was far more likely.
"That would appear to be the most likely candidate but I plan on waiting for the soil and atmospheric tests to come back in order to be certain." He said not wanting to jump to conclusions.
"You really think that our unknowns were behind this?" Kazahara asked not sounding opposed to the possibility but not convinced of it either.
"It is more likely than the alternatives." He replied turning away from the crater, "Since the formation of the Federation the number of nuclear weapons has decreased substantially with those that remain being stored in high security facilities worldwide for obvious reasons. Given that there have been no alerts issued to warn of missing inventory the bombs that did this must have been made via outside sources. Given the timing of the hacking of the Tesla Leight Institute, the unknown model of Personal Trooper and now this I think we can safely say that a well funded and armed group has begun to move."
"But who? Most of the companies and organizations capable of Personal Trooper construction are already allied with the Federation and the components for a nuclear weapon aren't easily obtained." Kazahara said sounding like he had no leads at the moment.
"True. Any organization or company of sufficient size and resources to build Personal Troopers entirely in house have long since been identified and contracted to ally with the Federation." He said nodding in agreement before unveiling a possibility, "However what if these unknowns chose to take the opposite approach?"
"What do you mean?" Kazahara asked not quite understanding his question.
Understandable but disappointing.
"Instead of operating out of as few locations as possible it is possible that these unknowns have chosen to spread out their resources and activities to as many places as possible." He replied before explaining his current theory, "A rock of sufficient size is naturally noticed but what of a few grains of sand? If each grain was spread out far enough and placed in an area of unrelated grains of sand would anyone be able to notice that something was amiss?"
"I see what you mean." Kazahara said his mind catching onto the idea, "If they spread out manufacture of the parts to their Personal Trooper, the acquisition of their infantry weapons and even these bombs to many different locations and even disguised them as something else…"
"…the people assigned to watch for such restricted materials or transactions might not take notice." He said finishing the train of thought, "They're trained to look for specific components, materials and weapons. However very few of them would think to look for the same things disassembled into their maximum possible pieces and this could be what the unknowns are counting on."
"They're hoping that a shipment of screws here, a crate of barrels there and bottles of gunpowder components will get overlooked so long as no one can connect the dots." Kazahara said before the two of them began walking back to their shuttles, "Broken down into pieces like that they would still need at least a handful of locations to bring all the pieces together for assembly as well as the equipment to do so. Perhaps it would be best to focus our efforts on finding both of those."
"It would improve our odds of finding and identifying them but only marginally." He said nodding in agreement, "There are any number of building types large enough to store a Personal Trooper and by its very nature it's probable that bookkeeping on the location of the necessary machinery is incomplete or in error. Still it's a lead worth following."
He would make the appropriate calls to have an in person inventory taken of every nuclear weapon as well as whatever equipment might be needed to make one. He'd also contact his allies in the various intelligence agencies to monitor the inventories being taken were not 'improperly' taken in order to hide missing items. It was after all a pastime prior to the Federation for certain officers in need of money to sell part of their inventory to whoever could pay their price then cover up the truth with properly doctored paperwork. If this was the source of the bombs used to destroy Bodie then they needed to find out the names of everyone involved in the crime and hold them accountable.
And if these criminals had indeed provided the bombs to the unknowns they could prove to be a valuable link to finding out more about this mysterious party.
"How is your work on the new Grungust model progressing?" He asked recalling the action spurred on by the battle between the Type-0 and the unknown Personal Trooper.
"It's proving to be a challenge to make one capable of matching Major Zonvolt's requests." Kazahara replied looking equal parts exasperated and energized, "Based on what I saw on the recordings the Personal Trooper he fought had superior mobility to the Type-0 and a weapon capable of cutting through a sword I specifically designed to be able to match the Major's fighting style. I examined the damage done and the cut was amazingly clean making me think that it was more than just a durable and very sharp piece of metal."
"You believe some form of technology enhanced it to the point where it could cut Major Zonvolt's weapon?" He asked finding this to be an interesting but also troubling possibility.
Despite the advanced technology of Meteor-3 and the efforts that had been made to prepare for the invasion to come they had yet to make serious advancements in melee weaponry. In terms of projectile and energy based firearms matters were progressing nicely but whenever they tried to produce viable energy centred melee weapons the technology never met their expectations. If these unknowns did have a means of going past the current limitations of Federation technology then it would be important to take as much of the unique Personal Trooper intact as possible.
"Yes and I think I know how." Kazahara replied with a light of interest in his eyes, "In the video recordings the unit was producing significant glowing particulates from a device incorporated into its back. I believe these particles are the source of its mobility and the sharpness of its blades. Unfortunately with nothing but video to work with I can only speculate about what they are and how they're achieving these effects."
He'd thought the same thing when he'd seen the video recordings.
"I'll contact the relevant experts to devise a means of collecting a sample of these particles for you." He said drawing up a list of likely candidates in his mind.
If they could identify the particles it would be the first step towards providing Federation forces with a means by which they could be immune to the electronic interference they generated. Once that was done the playing field would be more even since they'd have an easier time keeping track of the unit without having to rely on the external mounted video cameras. They'd also be able to get more detailed readings on the unit allowing them to better understand its advantages and come up with effective improvements to their own forces.
As for the bombs he would admit that they were impressive but not beyond the Federation's ability to match if a confrontation required such firepower.
"Do that. I'll need as much info as I can get if I want to make the necessary improvements to the new Grungust's armour and sword." Kazahara said as they arrived at their respective shuttles, "You know as much as I'm worried about what these unknowns want I love their tech. Seeing how that unknown unit moved and its weapons…I'm getting some great ideas for new models and improvements to existing ones."
"Yes. It is much more interesting to see technology in use rather than spend years trying to determine how it functions." He said agreeing with the director of the Tesla Leicht Institute, "Keep me informed of your progress."
With that he boarded his shuttle and sat down in front of an available station to begin making the necessary requests. He wouldn't have a lot of time since once he returned to the HQ of the SRX project he would need to prepare for the trip to the next location likely to have ideal Samples for the project. He already had the leader of the SRX team in Captain Kobayashi but since it was meant to be a three man team he needed to fill two more slots before the project could advance any further. One was off world at the moment recovering from wounds but was expected to be fit for duty within a few months. As for the other the he suspected he might find a suitable Sample at Japan's Burning PT National Tournament given the similarities between those robots and Personal Troopers. If he could find a promising player with the right readings he would approach them for the job and if necessary make sure they took it.
With all that was at stake he needed to make sure that all the necessary variables were in place in order to maximize the odds for success.
Even if it made others view him as inhuman.
The Hawaiian Archipelago
Approaching the Midway Atoll
Macross Quarter Bridge
Cordleia's POV
"So this is it?" She asked watching the navigational depiction of where they were relative to their destination.
"Yes. Based on what we've uncovered about the Federation's military deployment and this Earth's population centres this location would be the best option for us to establish a concealed base of operations." Commander Badgiruel replied from the captain's chair where she sat, "Given its history I think it's fitting for it to be called back into service."
"I remember from history class and from my extra memories that it was an American military base during the second World War but didn't it become a wildlife refuge sometime before the nineties?" She asked skimming through all the information in her head, "Something to do with preserving endangered species of seabirds and marine wildlife."
"That's true as far as the history of both your Earth and mine are concerned." Badgiruel replied before manipulating the controls built into the captain's chair, "However according to the history files we've acquired the island was devastated in the early months of the Federation's unification war when anti-Federation forces chose to use it as a base of operations. They'd been counting on the backlash that'd occur if Federation forces attacked in order to operate there with impunity especially since they'd made a public show of how they were being careful to stay away from the local wildlife."
"I take it some big shot politician or general decided to ignore the animal lovers?" She asked even though she was sure of the answer.
"Actually it was the anti-Federation forces that were behind the destruction in the end." Badgiruel replied bringing up a sequence of newspaper articles, "Apparently they were working to create a programmable plague that they could unleash on the Federation and were secretly using the wildlife on the island as test subjects. An accident of some sort occurred and the plague was released killing off all the endangered animals present. With their living shields gone and their plans exposed the Federation had no reason not to attack the island and decided to finish off the anti-Federation forces with a sustained bombardment. As you can imagine there wasn't much left when they were done."
"Then why're we going there?" She asked her mind bringing up a valid problem to the plan, "We don't have the machines or the raw materials to build an entire base from scratch much less one capable of handling the Quarter."
"Don't worry. According to a few files acquired from the hack on the Tesla Leicht Institute there was an effort made a year afterwards to make use of the Atoll." Badgiruel said bringing up the relevant files, "According to the files it was meant to be the base for a Federation highly trained special mission force consisting of soldiers from all branches of the military. They would be used to neutralize specific threats to world peace that conventional Federation military forces couldn't handle. It would be part headquarters and part training facility with sections set aside for a variety of vehicles."
"So what happened?" She asked her excess memories coming up with a list of logistics for such a venture.
"In the end? Budget cuts. The project received funding for a few years but once it became clear that the remaining anti-Federation forces had been reduced to small time terrorist groups the special mission force was considered an unnecessary cost." Badgiruel replied closing the windows showing the files, "The base sections above ground are likely a complete loss but the sub levels up to and including the submarine docks should still be in reasonable condition. We should be able to maneuver the Quarter in through the submarine entrance without much trouble."
"Wouldn't they have destroyed the base or at least sealed all the ways in?" She asked figuring that no government would want something they build being accessed by unaffiliated people.
"They sealed up the entrances from above with concrete as well as removing the various elevator components in all the shafts. As for the submarine entrance they simply closed the doors and welded them shut." Badgiruel replied as they reached a distance where they could see their destination with the naked eye through the bridge window, "Aside from that I doubt they did much to maintain the security of the facility. However the away team deployed to inspect the base will be instructed to be on the alert for security measures ranging from motion sensors to infrared tripwires to security cameras."
"So they disable any discovered security measures in place, cut our way through the submarine entrance and begin repurposing the base for our own mission." She said summing up the work that was ahead of them, "It'll certainly be easier rather than starting from scratch and the resources we have on the Quarter should just be enough to make it operational."
"Actually my plan is to locate the method that the security measures use to transmit their data to the Federation and use it to send them false information." Badgiruel said looking at the screen attached to the captain's chair, "If we simply disable the security it might cause them to send people to investigate but if we can convince them that nothing's wrong we will have complete freedom over the atoll. All we would have to worry about would be any passing boats or aircraft and our own sensors have a much greater range so we'll have ample warning to get out of sight."
A good idea and mostly without flaw.
Disabling the security measures still on the atoll would spark at least a sending a small team from the nearest military base whether it was thought to be faulty hardware or evidence of an unauthorized presence. However deceiving the Federation by sending them false data of everything being the same as always would allow the area to be ignored until something changed elsewhere to necessitate utilizing the abandoned base. There was still some risk involved given the existence of spy satellites in orbit and their lack of access to the Federation's information network but it was not great enough to warrant abandoning the location.
Besides if we can put into place an optical camouflage field over most of the island it won't matter if a spy satellite passes overhead. She thought recalling the interesting function of Buffy's Exia.
"Initiate passive scan of the Midway Atoll and the immediate area." Commander Badgiruel ordered once the Quarter had slowed to a stop.
"Aye commander!" Sergeant Lang responded before putting action to words.
"Any interest in leading the team to investigate the atoll Miss Chase?" Commander Badgiruel asked turning partially away from the bridge window to look at her.
She took a moment to think on the request but in the end shook her head in the negative.
"No. I am a Gundam pilot and that necessitates solo operations more than teamwork." She replied sounding certain of her words, "I might have the memories of Treize, Zechs and Heero but that doesn't make me as good as them at leading others. Better to put someone else in charge to make sure the job is done right."
"A smart decision but don't let it keep you from becoming more than what you are." Commander Badgiruel said with a respectful nod, "A person without the drive to become better than they were before won't last long on the battlefield or even in life."
"Understood. I will make preparations to join the team and report to the hangar airlock." She said performing an acceptable salute before turning around and walking to the bridge elevator.
It would make no sense to attempt to enter the base via a surface entrance since that would likely require that the Quarter surface given the absence of submersible vehicles aboard the Quarter. That meant that they would likely approach the entrance to the submarine docks underwater, gain entry likely by cutting their way in or finding another way and once inside explore the base CAREFULLY. After that, assuming they learned all they needed to know, the doors would be opened for the Quarter to come through and work would begin to turn the abandoned base into their own HQ.
It'd been the key point of the commander's proposal that while staying mobile had the advantage of making them very difficult to find it also hindered their ability to make repairs or perform upgrades. While the Quarter had some resources and some equipment for performing repairs on itself it'd never been capable of more than patch jobs. For any serious repairs it'd always been necessary to dock at a U.N Spacy space dock where they had machinery to handle the larger types of damage a Macross could suffer. It would be foolish to think that they would be able to get through their war with the Einst without the Quarter needing to undergo serious repairs at least once.
As for upgrades that was simple common sense.
Now that the Federation forces knew of the existence of the Exia and had been given a taste of its abilities it was only natural that they would make an effort to construct countermeasures. Either they would upgrade their Personal Troopers with technology that could make them the Exia's equal or they might even try to surpass it in order to ensure their victory. It was also quite likely that after the destruction of Bodie they would automatically place the Quarter and those aboard her in the 'enemy' column. That might lead to them taking on a more aggressive stance should their two sides meet such as not bothering to demand for a surrender but rather to force it to happen with violence. Even if they were able to escape the first few attempts at capture it'd inevitably lead to them showing the locals more of what they were capable of giving them the info they needed to form countermeasures.
It'd lead to a never-ending exchange of escalation where one side would try to become stronger than the other before it would be the other side's turn to become stronger.
As such it would be necessary to have a location where they could upgrade the Quarter, the Veritechs and the Gundams without needing to rush things or fear interruption.
If the surface of the atoll is fit for a garden we could also use it as a source of food. She thought as the elevator descended, Going for enough groceries to feed everyone on the Quarter would definitely attract attention.
If they could grow their own fruits and vegetables it might not solve all of their food needs but it'd definitely cut down on their grocery list enough to make shopping feasible. Sure they'd have to spread it out over multiple locations but given where their missions were likely to take them mixing in a little shopping wouldn't be impossible. If they shopped wisely they could get everything they needed without the locals being the wiser.
And when it came to shopping she was the unquestioned master of it no matter what it was she was after.
The Waters Between the Macross Quarter and Midway Atoll
A Little Under an Hour Later
Commander Daguza Mackle's POV
"Keep it tight people." He said even as their scuba propellers carried them towards their target, "If the base has any lingering security systems we've just popped up on them."
It was a motley group he'd been asked to lead but at least he had his old friend Haagensen along for the ride. Him he knew he could trust to watch his back and follow his orders. The others however he only had their files aboard the Quarter to tell him who they were, what they could do and if he could trust them to conduct themselves appropriately. The Gundam pilot, Cordelia Chase, had conducted herself respectably enough during the briefing in the hanger but according to her file this conditioning was not her own. While he had no experience with skills gained that way he couldn't say he liked the idea of it as an alternative to traditional training methods. His doubts might not be enough to have him remove her from the mission but he would have to be careful not to put too much pressure on her by asking too much.
As for Knight Otto Sachs he could tell that the man was a true soldier just like him and according to his file had been part of a special mobile suit division in his Earth's military. He could easily tell based on the man's movements and expressions that he would have no problem with him leaving Pilot Chase as the only wild card for him to be worried about.
Though Knight Sachs does seem to be rather insistent about staying close to Miss Chase. He thought as they reached the entrance to the submarine docks of the abandoned base, I'll have to look into that.
While he was not opposed to friendship between troops the one thing that had remain paramount was the success of the mission. Allowing feelings between two team members to get strong enough that one or both of them might choose to abandon or endanger the objective in order to preserve the life of their friend could not be permitted in any important mission. If Knight Sachs could maintain his discipline despite how he felt about Miss Chase then he would leave the man alone but if that turned out not to be the case then he would have to mention the problem in his report.
"Get the plasma cutter in place." He ordered causing both Pilot Chase and Knight Sachs to swim forward with their cargo.
Given the nature of the facility it'd been dismissed quickly that there'd be some sort of control or mechanism on the outside of the doors that they could use to open them up. When added to the likely composition and thickness of the door getting access to the gears and turning them was also judged to be a waste of time. So instead they'd chosen to simply cut a hole in the door just big enough for the team to swim through in order to gain entry. A normal plasma cutter wouldn't work but fortunately this one that'd been designed with carving up derelict spaceships in mind so he had little reason to doubt that it'd pierce the metal of the door.
There wasn't much to the set up of the cutter, Knight Sachs held it in place while Pilot Chase used clamps to get a grip on the door itself, and once done all it took was the pressing of a button. Seeing the lights come on he watched as the machine revved up before letting loose a discharge of plasma that instantly began to dig into the door. It wouldn't be left in place though because even with the diameter of the discharge it wouldn't be big enough for them to squeeze through with their gear. Instead the cutter would move along a frame of guide rails in order to cut a precisely door sized opening about a foot bigger than they actually needed. All in all the process only took five minutes to complete before the machine was shut down and removed from being an obstruction to the entryway it'd made.
Now came the difficult part.
With a nod to Lieutenant Haagensen the man opened up the bag that'd been strapped to his chest and reached in to remove three complex looking machines. Designed to look like squid the machines were activated with the push of a button before being tossed through the hole in the submarine bay doors. The creations of metal were designed for a singular purpose: to seek out and 'freeze' for a lack of a better term any security measures that existed underwater. Much like how a computer might freeze up requiring the owner to reboot the entire machine to get it working again. The mechanical squid would locate any mechanical devices their miniature sensors could detect, pierce it with an interface needle at the right point then arrange for the freeze. Fortunately the technology of this world didn't seem to be all that different from what the crew of the Macross Quarter were used to so figuring out what to do what they needed done hadn't been hard.
At the ten minute work he felt a little bit of worry that there might be too many security sensors to disable but when the squid emerged from the hole and deactivated themselves he knew all was well.
Without further delay the group entered through the doorway that'd been made for them taking their gear with them. Much like they'd expected there was no light inside with the government backers of the project likely not seeing the point of keeping the lights on inside of a decommissioned facility. Still he did not let that make him complacent because he knew that there were likely security devices scattered throughout each level or at least that would be how he'd have made it.
With a gesture towards Pilot Chase she took out a small object that looked like one of those old school UFOs before pulling a cord out of its side and attaching it to her helmet. Almost immediately he could see a small window appear on her helmet's HUD and a moment later she pressed a button on the object causing it to slowly rise towards the surface of the water. It was a remote camera modified to incorporate a lesser version of the optic camouflage that Gundam Exia had in order to not be seen but its purpose was clear enough
To allow her to see what existed above water in all directions.
There were enough cameras installed into the device to allow for a full three hundred and sixty degree view plus each camera had a different spectrum it could see in allowing for a thorough examination of the area above the water.
Watching as Pilot Chase used the controls in her helmet to switch from camera to camera while also causing the object to turn in a clockwise direction he couldn't make out what was being shown on the HUD but he could tell that the picture quality was good. Patiently he waited for a thorough search of the surface to be completed and it spoke well of Chase when five minutes later she pulled the object back and returned it to its former position on her back.
"Barely anything was there. Some infrared trip beams at the doorframes and only three cameras all of which looked like they could use maintenance." Chase said before pointing, "There, there and over there. Stationary from what I can tell rather than panning back and forth."
Disappointing.
Even if the project that had resulted in the creation of the facility had been cancelled and everything was mothballed the place should've either been destroyed or better secured against intruders. There were always groups, criminals in particular, who would see the advantages to taking over locations like this for their own purposes. The ease at which his own scouting mission was proceeding was proof enough that the security on the place was lacking.
Looking to Lieutenant Haagensen and nodding the two of them left the group to place themselves beneath two of the three camera positions that'd been pointed out to them. Based on their locations and the fact that they were fixed rather than panning they only needed to deal with the ones covering the way further into the facility. The one presumably positioned to focus on the submarine bay doors could be left alone due to its lesser threat.
Once he arrived at his location he pulled a device from its holster at his hip before looking to see if Haagensen was in position. They'd need to time this perfectly since the camera positioned above each of them had a perfect line of sight to where the other one was located. Seeing that his trusted second in command hadn't dragged his feet any he raised his right hand before holding up three fingers indicating that they would act on the count of three. A nod from the other man told him that the message had been understood.
One…
Two…
THREE!
Without hesitation he let himself surface, take aim at his target and then fired shooting a small mechanical device that immediately clamped onto the side of the camera. It was only a second later that the red light on the side of the device began blinking indicating that a connection had been established and when it went solid red five seconds later the job had been done.
"We're good. The cameras we need to worry about have been set to receive a five second loop of the same footage." He said to the rest of the team through his helmet's com-piece, "Let's get out of the water."
With smart movements they all swam to the dock that was no longer covered by an untouched camera and pulled themselves out of the water. A few moments later they had taken off the unnecessary scuba gear before Knight Sachs opened the water proof bag they'd brought and began handing out gear. A pouch full of devices that their engineering division had made to neutralize any security devices they encountered along the way and one tranq gun for each of them with a total of six darts per person. While they didn't think that there'd be actual guards present on the island they couldn't be certain and there was a chance however slight that unexpected guests could show up before they could fully claim the area.
Looking at the others he used hand signals to indicate where they'd be going and to be cautious.
He knew they'd likely ask him why they weren't talking out loud since there was no one around but he had a good reason for that. That reason was the fact that while they might have located cameras and tripwires there was also the possibility of sensitive microphones being included in the security measures. Perhaps he was being paranoid to think that the locals of this reality would put such things in a decommissioned facility but he'd rather assume the worst than give away their presence through carelessness.
Taking the lead he briefly hoped that matters did become more difficult as they progressed through the abandoned facility. If it did get harder than he could at least convince himself that the Federation and its military were worthy of respect.
Three Hours Later
Inside the Abandoned Facility
Captain Rupert Giles' POV
Yes. This will do. He thought as he stood in what he presumed had been meant as a command and control room for the special mission force that would've been headquartered here if not for loss of backing.
While what he'd seen of the facility had shown him that much had been stripped out of the place it had not been entirely bare of equipment or infrastructure. Most likely while the people who'd originally been behind the shutting down of the complex hadn't wanted to leave anything valuable behind they'd been prudent enough to ensure that the place could be reactivated if need be. As such he foresaw that with the supplies aboard the Quarter and some time they could have this place mostly functional in a couple of weeks with improvements taking a little while longer. From his point of view getting basic utilities up to snuff, making sure the complex's infirmary could handle moderate issues to the satisfaction of the medical division and bringing the C&C room online took priority.
After it became feasible for them to run missions out of the complex he could allow the various divisions to submit requests in terms of resources or additional upgrades. It would likely take years for them to be able to accommodate the wishes of every division since they'd have to acquire local resources for them once what they had on the Quarter ran out. Some might say not to bother but the truth of the matter was that they had no way of knowing how long they'd be clearing out Einst nests or when the main invasion force would arrive.
It could happen within a years time or not for a decade.
Either way he would need to be selective in what he spent resources on focusing on creating a strong foundation first before entertaining ideas of anything else.
"Looks like we might've gotten a break G-Man." Xander said approaching from his right.
"What do you mean?" He asked turning to face one of his charges.
"It might've been a tight fit getting the Quarter in here without scratching the paint but according to a map we found there's a training area for one man submersibles right below the main dock." Xander replied taking a piece of paper out of his pocket before handing it over, "If we clear out the various training equipment and merge it with the submarine dock we should have all the room we need."
"That is indeed fortunate." He said as one of his problems was resolved, "If not for that entering and exiting our new headquarters would take too long representing a strategic weakness."
Indeed if their new headquarters was ever discovered and forces were swiftly approaching they would need to leave on the Quarter in a hurry and navigating in difficult confines would not have been easy. It would've costed them precious minutes and in battle even seconds could prove to be vital to both survival as well as success.
"Willow and the engineering division are still taking inventory of the other levels but it looks like physically the place is ready to be moved into. All we'll need to do is bring in equipment, furniture and supplies."
"We have enough of all three aboard the Quarter to serve our needs in the short term." He said recalling what he could of the inventory, "However we will have to stretch our supplies until we have acquired a means by which to resupply and that could take awhile."
With the amount of fuss they'd already caused they'd be foolish to ignore the likelihood that the locals were already chasing down every feasible lead they could logically come up with. One of those leads would be track down possible sources of supplies both legal as well as illegal as well as the names of the buyers for the past few years. After all he could only imagine that the resources needed to create something like the Exia or bombs capable of the destruction of Bodie weren't easily acquired so it wouldn't be as hard as tracing more readily available items from seller to buyer. Food and basic medicine available to any civilian would likely be easy enough to acquire if they spread out their purchases enough to require obscene effort to correlate but the rest would be harder.
If it was going to be easy then anyone could do it. He thought reminding himself that there would likely be no easy solutions to any of their problems.
"I take it that the various divisions are already claiming certain rooms or floors for themselves?" He asked even though he found the answer in his own mind.
"Of course. A spot's already been picked out for the Gundams if they need repairs or maintenance and while the infirmary isn't in the best shape Doctor Winner says she'll fix that soon enough." Xander replied smirking at the blonde woman's determination, "Ozma's taken a couple of people to see how many people'll be able to fit in the barracks this place has and Buffy's gone topside with Lieutenants Cruz and Noin to keep watch in case we triggered any red flags with the locals."
"We didn't detect any alarms or a sudden transmissions." He pointed out since if they had he would've ordered the return of the infiltration team before they made best speed out of the area.
"Doesn't mean anything. We're still learning about what the locals can do and what we do know is that they've been taking alien tech from a meteor, reverse engineering what they can and using it to do whatever they want. Who's to say they didn't use some of that tech to send off a signal we can't detect?"
"A little paranoid don't you think? I'll admit that neither the science division or the engineering division have had a chance to examine a sample of Meteor-3 technology but that does not mean we should get overly worried. Everything we have seen of the people of this Earth suggests they are not all that far ahead of our Earth in terms of technology or scientific prowess. Even if they have reverse engineered some of the alien technology I doubt they'd managed to do so perfectly."
"Better to be safe than sorry G-Man. Buffy and them'll stay up there until we can set up some concealed cameras and some other stuff we can monitor from down here. If the Federation does find out about us being here it makes sense that they'd send a covert scouting team in first before sending in their navy or air force. We capture the team and we can find out who's found us and figure out a way to send false info to them saying no one's here. It'd buy us some time at least."
While he still thought that the lad was being paranoid he supposed that there was no harm in letting Buffy keep watch from up there. When she was hungry or wanted to rest she'd come down to do one or the other on the Quarter and once the base was up to snuff she'd do it there.
Besides they weren't scheduled to look for the next Einst nest for a few days at the earliest since the science division wanted to take the data Xander had brought back to improve the HAZMAT suits as well as refine their decontamination procedures. While he realized that science had limits even with the intellects gathered on the Quarter he hoped that they could reduce the decontamination procedure to less than a week. If they couldn't then he would have to assign the job of investigating and destroying the nests to less valuable but still skilled members of the crew.
This was not out of some selfish desire but rather a practical decision.
From everything he had learned the Gundams and their pilots were trump cards when it came to combat since each of them had the power as well as the training to take on multiple enemies by themselves. This made them irreplaceable from a strategic point of view and depending on how bad things became either with the Einst or the locals having one stuck in decontamination could put them all at a serious disadvantage. Each of the Gundams had a specialty that they excelled at and while those still able to fight could compensate for the one missing to a degree they'd be in a pinch if the situation didn't allow for such action.
Whistler and his bosses approached them specifically because they had demonstrated the ability to do the impossible both in breaking the prophecy about Buffy dying as well as defeating the ascended Mayor Wilkins. To him this meant that if the Einst could be defeated with just the crew of the Quarter as well as those present then the 'Scoobies' would never have been approached in the first place. Indeed if Gundam pilots were all that was needed to defeat the Einst then why didn't Whistler's bosses simply pluck the originals rather than copy the memories and skills into a Scooby?
In the end he had reasons, both personal as well as practical, to not expose his charges to any more danger than was absolutely necessary.
He WOULD see them safely back home!
Buffy WOULD get to live out her life free of the threats represented by the supernatural and demonic!
Eight Months Later
The C&C Room
Willow's POV
"What's up Giles?" She asked after letting the doors to the C&C close behind her.
"We've picked up some rather odd movements involving the Federation military that I believe should be investigated." Giles replied before tapping a few keys and bringing up three images on the improvised war table, "A little under a day ago the taps that Miss Sierra managed to put into place on important military lines indicated a substantial force was being assigned to an operation in Antarctica. Both the Shirogane and the Hiryu Custom have been assigned to provide security along with five teams of three Personnel Troopers."
"Sounds like a lot of security." She said picturing what such forces would look like set up to defend a certain location, "The taps say anything about why they're heading up there?"
"The official reason is to unveil a new model of Personnel Trooper designed by the Extra Over Technology Investigative Committee with a few important members of the Federation government present." He replied though from his tone she suspected that there was something more going on.
"Anything unofficial?" She asked prodding him to proceed.
"Nothing substantial other than the level of security surrounding the operation." He replied with mild disappointment, "However you don't hold the unveiling of a new weapon in the most remote location on the planet with enough security to repel a small army. Not unless there's something more going on."
Thinking on the matter she had to admit that unveiling's of this nature were usually conducted in places a lot warmer than Antarctica. Also given the fact that there were no publicly declared threats there'd be no need for enhanced security since normal military base security would be sufficient. The more she thought about it the more she was certain that the operation was a front for something else but what that something was she couldn't say. The only possibility that she could think of was that it had something to do with the Aerogators that the Federation believed would invade this Earth at some point in the future. Was it a meeting of experts on the Aerogators to discuss strategy or witness the performance of their latest model of Personnel Trooper?
Possibly.
"So what do you think we should do?" She asked even as her mind came up with a few possibilities.
"Normally I'd be tempted to simply ignore them since we must focus our efforts on the Einst." Giles replied reaching for his glasses to polish them a bit, "However if the Federation decides to get serious with its pursuit of us they might well send this new model after us. We have tactical data on the basic models and the one Buffy fought but not on this new one. I believe we should remedy the situation."
"Another mission like Buffy's? Get close, watch and then leave?" She asked figuring that that would be the best approach to take minus bringing a Gundam along.
"Unfortunately that won't be possible this time." Giles replied with a negative shake of his head, "Before we had the element of surprise and a safe location to operate out of. With the amount of security that will be onsite leading up to the operation sneaking a shuttle in much less setting up shop would be detected immediately. Instead I believe only a single unit should be sent in or more specifically I think you and the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam should be sent."
"Huh?" She said a little surprised by this proposed course of action.
"I have been informed about how diligently you have been working with the science and engineering depart. They say you have a sharp mind and an inquisitiveness that appeals to them as scientists." He replied with some concern, "However it is not healthy to remain cooped up aboard the Quarter for too long and no wandering around our new base is not a sufficient change of pace. You need a break and to stretch your legs bit.
"Besides which the colouring of the Unicorn Gundam is ideal for missions in snow covered landscapes. Should you agree to the mission I can set the engineering division to work modifying the Gundam both for flight as well as increasing its stealth capabilities." he said revealing more practical reasons, "Doctor J and the others think it wouldn't be too hard to incorporate their Hyper Jammer technology into the Unicorn Gundam. With it you should be able to get to within eyesight of the operation's location allowing you to monitor the proceedings. Will you accept this mission?"
Honestly she didn't think she'd been working too hard helping the members of the science and engineering division plus she enjoyed learning all they had to teach her. Still she knew that if she didn't accept the mission she'd just wind up getting another dropped in her lap at the next opportunity so it would be less trouble if she just humoured Giles and the others this once. Besides that she was a little curious about seeing what the Federation's newest model of Personnel Trooper looked like and what it could do. If it was powerful enough that it could pose a threat to both the Gundams as well as the Macross Quarter itself then they needed to know all they could about it in order to prepare.
"I'll go but I want Xander in the Freedom as backup." She said coming to a decision, "The Unicorn isn't built for flying long distances and modifying it so it can might not be something we have time for. He can stay back far enough to be missed but close enough to pull me out of trouble if things go bad."
"Unless you choose to make a spectacle of yourself that will not happen." Giles said sounding doubtful that backup would be needed, "This is merely a fact finding mission. Not combat."
"Just like Buffy mission with the others?" She asked rhetorically, "I think it's fairly obvious by now Giles that we can't count on things going according to plan. We have to be ready for the possibility of things going wrong."
Indeed if this new model of Personal Trooper had improved sensors then there existed a possibility however remote that it could sense her even with the Hyper Jammer system at work. If that happened then she'd need to make a quick getaway and if its weapons had significant range then having Xander there to help would be much better than facing it solo.
"Very well. I will inform Doctor J and the others to begin the modifications to the Unicorn and Freedom Gundams immediately." Giles said conceding her points, "According to the intelligence gathered the Federation is still in the process of dispensing the orders and in some cases waiting for the chosen forces to be freed up from their current assignments. We should have anywhere from four to six weeks before the secret operation takes place."
"Plenty of time to get both the Freedom and the Unicorn ready." She said having become familiar enough with Doctor J and the others to predict how long they'd need.
"Very well then." Giles said sounding satisfied with the conclusion, "Would you care to join me for lunch Willow? I understand that the cook has managed to create something surprisingly good today."
It had been something of a sad truth in the base that in order to stretch supplies far enough to allow them to set up alternate sources of food the level of deliciousness had dropped to someplace closer to mediocre. Enough to meet with basic dietary requirements but only just good enough to prevent everyone present from stooping to stealing from the food stores for something better. They'd managed to find a patch of land topside that was suitable enough for a garden and had already planted seeds from the fruit in the Macross Quarter's storage rooms but it'd take time for them to grow. As for securing supplies away from the Midway Atoll several crewmen who had experience with such matters were already evaluating potential locations they could go. The criteria seemed to be distance, availability of supplies and whether or not they could go there without raising any flags with the wrong people.
At last count she'd heard that there were two places that'd do but the people looking wanted at least six before considering their job done.
Until then they had to rely on the cook's magic to keep meals bearable.
"Then let's see if it is." She said not having anything more pressing to do at the moment and she was feeling rather hungry.
"Then to the mess hall we go." Giles said with a smile that showed he appreciated her company.
Then again she'd appreciate having someone around in case she needed the Heimlich maneuver or help making it to the infirmary.