Dana and Angelo crouched low behind the boulder on the outskirts of the
launching grounds, located in the northeast section of Monument City.
There were six starships, two of which appeared relatively undamaged. A
squad of Hovertanks stood guard near the ships, while twenty soldiers stood
guard along the perimeter.
Dana's heart was racing. It was a dangerous plan. While she and Angelo created a diversion, the rest of the group, consisting of Bowie, Musica, Sean, Louie, and Allegra would race in on hovercycles in the ensuing confusion, board one of the vessels, take off, and escape. Marie would provide air support in her Ajax. Meanwhile, Dana and Angelo would make a run for it on their hovercycles and rendezvous with the rest of the group twenty miles southwest of the city.
"If Angelo and I aren't there in three days, it means we were caught," Dana had said at the meeting in the café the night before.
"What are we supposed to do if that happens?" Bowie had asked.
"You leave without us."
"But Dana-"
"No buts, Bowie," Dana had said sternly, "Your mission is to evacuate this planet at all costs. We have to make contact with Hunter's expeditionary forces and let them know what happened here."
Dana swallowed hard. She had arrived at the critical juncture of her destiny. Her entire future depended on her success with this mission.
"Are you ready with the charges, Angie?"
"Almost, ma'am," Angelo replied. He paused in the darkness to take another look at the guard forces. With the destruction of the command headquarters and the deaths of most of the top commanding officers, including Commander Leonard, there had been a general breakdown of command structure within the Army of the Southern Cross. Although a large number of surviving soldiers was committed to rebuilding, there were a few who were more interested in looting and profiteering. Judging from the crates of supplies stacked outside the ships, Angelo figured that these particular soldiers were in the latter camp.
Dana looked through her binoculars and spotted her friends on hovercycles, about a hundred yards away.
"It's time," Dana said. "Detonate the charges!"
Angelo shoved down the lever of the detonator, and at once, a dozen explosive charges placed behind boulders and chunks of debris went off, sending a shudder through the entire area and lighting up the entire perimeter. Shouts of alarm went off throughout the squad of defending soldiers as they rushed toward the site of the explosions, followed by the Veritech hovertanks. In the confusion, no one noticed the small group of hovercycles speed in through another section of the perimeter.
The plan was working. The rest of the group was making a bee-line for one of the ships. One of the soldiers who had hung back noticed them and fired on the hovercycles, but Sean cut him down with his laser rifle.
"The ships! They're after the ships!" someone shouted.
Dana and Angelo suddenly rose from their position of cover and opened fire on the soldiers, trying to stop them from backtracking toward their ships. The entire scene was one of mass confusion now, as the soldiers fired blindly on Dana and Angelo, while at the same time trying to head back to stop their ships from being stolen. The darkness was illuminated now only by the light of the combatants' laser rifles.
The hovertanks had made it back to the ships and were bent on stopping the theft. Without warning, Marie's Ajax dove in from above and launched all of its missiles, destroying two of the hovertanks. Marie climbed quickly, out of range of the remaining hovertanks, who were attempting to return fire. It was just what Sean and Bowie needed as together, they piloted the stolen ship out of the launching grounds and took the ship away from the scene.
Smiling with satisfaction, Dana motioned for Angelo for them to withdraw immediately. They hopped onto their hovercycles and sped off into the night.
"After them!" Dana heard voices behind her saying. They weren't out of the woods yet. The two remaining hovertanks were hot in pursuit, firing their laser cannons. Dana and Angelo zigged and zagged as they sped away, trying to evade the enemy's fire. One of the enemy's blasts caught Dana's hovercycle, however, and Dana felt her vehicle spin out of control. Dana was forced to jump off her hovercycle, and she landed roughly on the ground, tumbling in the gravel. Angelo's hovercycle skidded to a halt just ahead as he turned to see what had happened to Dana.
"Go, leave me!" Dana urged weakly.
"No way," Angelo cried as he hopped off his bike and went to her side, intending to carry her onto his bike.
But it was too late. The two pursuing hovertanks caught up with Dana and Angelo, and their pilots leapt out of their cockpits with guns in their hands, ready to fire.
"Don't move or we'll shoot you to pieces," one of the soldiers said. The rest of the squad of soldiers was on hovercycles, not far behind.
One of the hovertank pilots walked up to Dana, who lay on the ground in pain, and kicked her in the abdomen.
"You son of a bitch!" Angelo cried.
A soldier pistol-whipped Angelo in the face, and he crumpled to the ground in pain.
Lying on the ground, Dana gingerly felt her ribs. They seemed to have been bruised in the fall. She had suffered no broken bones. But now it seemed to be the end of the road. The soldiers gathering around her and Angelo now lowered their rifles, preparing to execute them.
"Hold it right there!"
Dana blinked. She was still alive. The soldiers hadn't shot her yet. Who had just spoken? It was a female voice, one she thought she recognized.
"This ain't your business," one of the soldiers snarled.
"Everything is the business of the Global Military Police," the voice of Nova Satori said.
Nova had arrived with a dozen other police officers, all on hovertanks. Nova rode a hovercycle herself.
"You're all under arrest," Nova declared. "Drop your weapons and come quietly, or we'll shoot you all where you stand."
"But these two," one of the soldiers complained, "these two here helped some bastards steal our ship!"
"Shut the hell up, you deserters," Nova snapped.
Nova motioned to her officers to arrest the soldiers and take them away.
"I'll deal with these two," Nova said, referring to Dana and Angelo. She turned to her subordinates. "You go on ahead."
"Yes, Lieutenant," the GMP officer said.
The GMP did a quick sweep of the area to make sure they had apprehended everyone. Nova watched as the GMP officers piloted the hovertanks away, toward the direction of Monument City. When the others had left, Nova turned to Dana and Angelo, who lay on the dirt, watching her silently and expectantly. They were illuminated only by the light on Nova's hovercycle.
Nova's stern countenance melted into a smile.
"Come on," Nova chided them, "you didn't think I was actually going to arrest you, did you?"
Angelo breathed a sigh of relief. Nova helped Angelo to his feet, before turning to help Dana.
"You did have us going for a minute there," Angelo said with a grin.
"Are you all right, Dana?" Nova said.
"I'll be fine, thanks," Dana muttered, grimacing a little from her hurt ribs.
"You came just in the nick of time," Angelo said.
"Well, the explosions and the gunfire could be heard for miles," Nova said. "But actually, I knew you were going to be here. I had you followed out here, Dana. I knew you were up to something."
"Why didn't you try to stop us?" Dana asked, confused.
"Things are changing around here, Dana. Some people know that there's an invasion coming soon, but others don't believe it. The army's not as organized as it once was. The GMP isn't as effective in maintaining discipline. It won't be long before the GMP disbands altogether. We're all holding on by a thin thread, but you and I know perfectly well that there's going to be another war, and we're going to lose that war."
"Then join us," Dana urged, glad to know that Nova was still her friend. "We're going to leave here and find the Robotech forces on Tirol. They're our only hope."
Nova shook her head and smiled.
"I have a life here," Nova said. "I have someone that I love. I want to settle down with him and have a family. This is my home. This is where I belong. We'll wait out this war and see what happens."
Dana knew that Nova was talking about Dennis Brown, the courageous pilot whom Nova had fallen in love with. In the days following the final battle of Monument City, Dana had often seen Nova and Dennis together. The two of them were building a life together. Unlike Dana, who was convinced that her fate lay in the stars, Nova's destiny was inextricably tied to their home world. Somehow, in this war torn world where prospects appeared bleaker by the day, the two of them would find a way to survive, sustained by the strength of their love.
"Let's go," Angelo said to Dana. "We can ride on my bike."
Dana turned to Nova. Both of them knew that this could very well be the last time they would ever see each other.
Nova held out her hand.
"Dana," she said.
Dana stepped forward and threw her arms around Nova, hugging her close.
"I'm glad we could be friends," Dana said. "I'm glad to see you had a heart after all."
Nova laughed.
"I'll be thinking about you," she said.
Dana climbed onto Angelo's bike and put her arms around his waist. She waved at Nova, who waved back. Angelo and Dana took off into the night. Nova hung back for a few minutes, alone with her thoughts. Finally, Nova sighed wistfully, and she hopped onto her bike and sped back to the city.
* * *
"Turn here, Angie," Dana said.
"What? But aren't we headed to the rendezvous point?"
"We are, but we're taking a detour," Dana said as they cruised through the remains of Monument City.
Angelo turned to the right, just as Dana had instructed.
"What about the rest of the group? Aren't they waiting for us?"
"There's someone I need to see before I leave," Dana said as they pulled up in front of the home of Vanessa Leeds. Part of the wall on one side had caved in, but the rest of the house was fairly intact. Vanessa had returned to live at her old home, for the moment. Dana knew she would be leaving tomorrow. It was no coincidence that Dana had planned her raid on the ship launching grounds on this very night.
Vanessa heard them arrive, and she walked out to meet them in front of the house.
"Hello, Dana," Vanessa said as Dana slowly got off the bike. Vanessa turned to greet Angelo.
"Evening, ma'am," Angelo nodded.
"Aunty, you know Angie," Dana said.
"Of course," Vanessa said.
Dana turned to Angelo and patted his hand, which remained at rest on the handlebar.
"Thanks for not leaving me back there," Dana said.
"I wouldn't ever think of leaving you behind like that," Angelo said emphatically.
"I know," Dana smiled sweetly. For a moment, she forgot herself and stood there smiling at Angelo.
"Well, Dana," Angelo said. "Guess I'll go on to meet the others and tell them to wait."
"I'll be there at sundown tomorrow," Dana said.
Angelo nodded and drove off, leaving Dana and Vanessa alone for their last day together.
Dana's heart was racing. It was a dangerous plan. While she and Angelo created a diversion, the rest of the group, consisting of Bowie, Musica, Sean, Louie, and Allegra would race in on hovercycles in the ensuing confusion, board one of the vessels, take off, and escape. Marie would provide air support in her Ajax. Meanwhile, Dana and Angelo would make a run for it on their hovercycles and rendezvous with the rest of the group twenty miles southwest of the city.
"If Angelo and I aren't there in three days, it means we were caught," Dana had said at the meeting in the café the night before.
"What are we supposed to do if that happens?" Bowie had asked.
"You leave without us."
"But Dana-"
"No buts, Bowie," Dana had said sternly, "Your mission is to evacuate this planet at all costs. We have to make contact with Hunter's expeditionary forces and let them know what happened here."
Dana swallowed hard. She had arrived at the critical juncture of her destiny. Her entire future depended on her success with this mission.
"Are you ready with the charges, Angie?"
"Almost, ma'am," Angelo replied. He paused in the darkness to take another look at the guard forces. With the destruction of the command headquarters and the deaths of most of the top commanding officers, including Commander Leonard, there had been a general breakdown of command structure within the Army of the Southern Cross. Although a large number of surviving soldiers was committed to rebuilding, there were a few who were more interested in looting and profiteering. Judging from the crates of supplies stacked outside the ships, Angelo figured that these particular soldiers were in the latter camp.
Dana looked through her binoculars and spotted her friends on hovercycles, about a hundred yards away.
"It's time," Dana said. "Detonate the charges!"
Angelo shoved down the lever of the detonator, and at once, a dozen explosive charges placed behind boulders and chunks of debris went off, sending a shudder through the entire area and lighting up the entire perimeter. Shouts of alarm went off throughout the squad of defending soldiers as they rushed toward the site of the explosions, followed by the Veritech hovertanks. In the confusion, no one noticed the small group of hovercycles speed in through another section of the perimeter.
The plan was working. The rest of the group was making a bee-line for one of the ships. One of the soldiers who had hung back noticed them and fired on the hovercycles, but Sean cut him down with his laser rifle.
"The ships! They're after the ships!" someone shouted.
Dana and Angelo suddenly rose from their position of cover and opened fire on the soldiers, trying to stop them from backtracking toward their ships. The entire scene was one of mass confusion now, as the soldiers fired blindly on Dana and Angelo, while at the same time trying to head back to stop their ships from being stolen. The darkness was illuminated now only by the light of the combatants' laser rifles.
The hovertanks had made it back to the ships and were bent on stopping the theft. Without warning, Marie's Ajax dove in from above and launched all of its missiles, destroying two of the hovertanks. Marie climbed quickly, out of range of the remaining hovertanks, who were attempting to return fire. It was just what Sean and Bowie needed as together, they piloted the stolen ship out of the launching grounds and took the ship away from the scene.
Smiling with satisfaction, Dana motioned for Angelo for them to withdraw immediately. They hopped onto their hovercycles and sped off into the night.
"After them!" Dana heard voices behind her saying. They weren't out of the woods yet. The two remaining hovertanks were hot in pursuit, firing their laser cannons. Dana and Angelo zigged and zagged as they sped away, trying to evade the enemy's fire. One of the enemy's blasts caught Dana's hovercycle, however, and Dana felt her vehicle spin out of control. Dana was forced to jump off her hovercycle, and she landed roughly on the ground, tumbling in the gravel. Angelo's hovercycle skidded to a halt just ahead as he turned to see what had happened to Dana.
"Go, leave me!" Dana urged weakly.
"No way," Angelo cried as he hopped off his bike and went to her side, intending to carry her onto his bike.
But it was too late. The two pursuing hovertanks caught up with Dana and Angelo, and their pilots leapt out of their cockpits with guns in their hands, ready to fire.
"Don't move or we'll shoot you to pieces," one of the soldiers said. The rest of the squad of soldiers was on hovercycles, not far behind.
One of the hovertank pilots walked up to Dana, who lay on the ground in pain, and kicked her in the abdomen.
"You son of a bitch!" Angelo cried.
A soldier pistol-whipped Angelo in the face, and he crumpled to the ground in pain.
Lying on the ground, Dana gingerly felt her ribs. They seemed to have been bruised in the fall. She had suffered no broken bones. But now it seemed to be the end of the road. The soldiers gathering around her and Angelo now lowered their rifles, preparing to execute them.
"Hold it right there!"
Dana blinked. She was still alive. The soldiers hadn't shot her yet. Who had just spoken? It was a female voice, one she thought she recognized.
"This ain't your business," one of the soldiers snarled.
"Everything is the business of the Global Military Police," the voice of Nova Satori said.
Nova had arrived with a dozen other police officers, all on hovertanks. Nova rode a hovercycle herself.
"You're all under arrest," Nova declared. "Drop your weapons and come quietly, or we'll shoot you all where you stand."
"But these two," one of the soldiers complained, "these two here helped some bastards steal our ship!"
"Shut the hell up, you deserters," Nova snapped.
Nova motioned to her officers to arrest the soldiers and take them away.
"I'll deal with these two," Nova said, referring to Dana and Angelo. She turned to her subordinates. "You go on ahead."
"Yes, Lieutenant," the GMP officer said.
The GMP did a quick sweep of the area to make sure they had apprehended everyone. Nova watched as the GMP officers piloted the hovertanks away, toward the direction of Monument City. When the others had left, Nova turned to Dana and Angelo, who lay on the dirt, watching her silently and expectantly. They were illuminated only by the light on Nova's hovercycle.
Nova's stern countenance melted into a smile.
"Come on," Nova chided them, "you didn't think I was actually going to arrest you, did you?"
Angelo breathed a sigh of relief. Nova helped Angelo to his feet, before turning to help Dana.
"You did have us going for a minute there," Angelo said with a grin.
"Are you all right, Dana?" Nova said.
"I'll be fine, thanks," Dana muttered, grimacing a little from her hurt ribs.
"You came just in the nick of time," Angelo said.
"Well, the explosions and the gunfire could be heard for miles," Nova said. "But actually, I knew you were going to be here. I had you followed out here, Dana. I knew you were up to something."
"Why didn't you try to stop us?" Dana asked, confused.
"Things are changing around here, Dana. Some people know that there's an invasion coming soon, but others don't believe it. The army's not as organized as it once was. The GMP isn't as effective in maintaining discipline. It won't be long before the GMP disbands altogether. We're all holding on by a thin thread, but you and I know perfectly well that there's going to be another war, and we're going to lose that war."
"Then join us," Dana urged, glad to know that Nova was still her friend. "We're going to leave here and find the Robotech forces on Tirol. They're our only hope."
Nova shook her head and smiled.
"I have a life here," Nova said. "I have someone that I love. I want to settle down with him and have a family. This is my home. This is where I belong. We'll wait out this war and see what happens."
Dana knew that Nova was talking about Dennis Brown, the courageous pilot whom Nova had fallen in love with. In the days following the final battle of Monument City, Dana had often seen Nova and Dennis together. The two of them were building a life together. Unlike Dana, who was convinced that her fate lay in the stars, Nova's destiny was inextricably tied to their home world. Somehow, in this war torn world where prospects appeared bleaker by the day, the two of them would find a way to survive, sustained by the strength of their love.
"Let's go," Angelo said to Dana. "We can ride on my bike."
Dana turned to Nova. Both of them knew that this could very well be the last time they would ever see each other.
Nova held out her hand.
"Dana," she said.
Dana stepped forward and threw her arms around Nova, hugging her close.
"I'm glad we could be friends," Dana said. "I'm glad to see you had a heart after all."
Nova laughed.
"I'll be thinking about you," she said.
Dana climbed onto Angelo's bike and put her arms around his waist. She waved at Nova, who waved back. Angelo and Dana took off into the night. Nova hung back for a few minutes, alone with her thoughts. Finally, Nova sighed wistfully, and she hopped onto her bike and sped back to the city.
* * *
"Turn here, Angie," Dana said.
"What? But aren't we headed to the rendezvous point?"
"We are, but we're taking a detour," Dana said as they cruised through the remains of Monument City.
Angelo turned to the right, just as Dana had instructed.
"What about the rest of the group? Aren't they waiting for us?"
"There's someone I need to see before I leave," Dana said as they pulled up in front of the home of Vanessa Leeds. Part of the wall on one side had caved in, but the rest of the house was fairly intact. Vanessa had returned to live at her old home, for the moment. Dana knew she would be leaving tomorrow. It was no coincidence that Dana had planned her raid on the ship launching grounds on this very night.
Vanessa heard them arrive, and she walked out to meet them in front of the house.
"Hello, Dana," Vanessa said as Dana slowly got off the bike. Vanessa turned to greet Angelo.
"Evening, ma'am," Angelo nodded.
"Aunty, you know Angie," Dana said.
"Of course," Vanessa said.
Dana turned to Angelo and patted his hand, which remained at rest on the handlebar.
"Thanks for not leaving me back there," Dana said.
"I wouldn't ever think of leaving you behind like that," Angelo said emphatically.
"I know," Dana smiled sweetly. For a moment, she forgot herself and stood there smiling at Angelo.
"Well, Dana," Angelo said. "Guess I'll go on to meet the others and tell them to wait."
"I'll be there at sundown tomorrow," Dana said.
Angelo nodded and drove off, leaving Dana and Vanessa alone for their last day together.