The history of the future :The Return of the Inorganics
It is 2054, 10 years after the end of the Invid Invasion, the United Earth Government (UEG) goes about the task of rebuilding the planet. The population, estimated to be at 6 billion at the beginning of the century, now is closer to 90 - 100 million. The Invid Flower of Life has affected virtually every ecosystem on Earth. The oceans have been restored to their former glory. Most of the jungles and rainforests have returned. Earth is once more than capable of supporting life. The UEG has reorganized its military into two main commands. The new Army of the Southern Cross is responsible of the defense of the planet while the Robotech Expeditionary Forces (REF) is tasked with the exploration of space. There is some resistance to the sending half of the military into space but it is quickly put down. The REF is centered on the new starship, United Earth Space Ship (UESS) SDF Seeker. The Seeker is the largest man made space craft, ever. The story opens with the Seeker, high in orbit over the city of Newmon. Newmon is built on the site of the old Monument City and is the largest settlement in the world. Among other things, it is the home of the Robotech Academy. Our heroes, Jason Lord and Gerry Pryor have just graduated as ensigns in the REF. They have one last night on the town before blasting off with the Seeker on its deep-space mission. As they are prone to do, the pair swiftly gets into trouble Also true to form it is centered on a woman. The pair seemingly escapes, only to discover the next day that the woman in question is their commanding officer, Lt Commander Loya Stone. They are all assigned to the 16th Fighter Squadron (16FS), an attack unit of Veritech Thunderfires. The Thunderfire is the latest fighter craft in the REF inventory. Despite their rocky meeting, there is chemistry between Stone and Lord.
The Seeker, under the command of Admiral Strong, leaves Earth orbit on its mission: To seek out allies to band together against any future aggressors like the Invid or the Robotech Masters. The great ship executes a space fold and leaves behind our solar system. As the journey gets underway, we are introduced to the cast. In addition to Lord, Pryor and Stone, there is Lt Marcus Phillips, Stone's second in command. Also, there's Ensign Conrad Troy, an old friend of Lord's. He is assigned to another Thunderfire squadron. A support character is Captain Stel, the commander of the 1st Space Fleet Wing (1SFW). Our heroes pass the time mostly training. Stone notices that Lord has piloting skills vastly superior to his peers. She questions him on this and he replies with an unsatisfactorily 'that's classified' answer. There are other moments of tension between the two and everyone notices the attraction between them except Lord and Stone.
During its fold, the Seeker is unexplainably drawn back into real space in the middle of an asteroid field. Capt Stel deploys the 1SFW to destroy the asteroid before they can damage the Seeker. Primarily through the efforts of Lord, the ship is saved. It is discover that this phenomenon is no accident. The Seeker tracks an electromagnetic energy wave coming from a distant planet. The 16FS is assigned to investigate. Shorthanded due to an injury, Troy is reassigned to the 16FS. Our heroes reach the planet and discover that it appears uninhibited. There is no sign of anything that could have produced the massive energy wave that knocked the Seeker out of hyperspace. Still, they investigate. During their time on the planet, Lord and Stone grow closer. It appears that a romance is forming. Lord tells Stone the secret of his flying skills. Stone is moved by this show of faith.
Eventually, the 16FS discover a native of the planet, Zarel. He attacks them under the false impression that they are robots. Once Zarel realizes his error, he explains his hatred of mechanical beings. Ten years ago, a vast army of robots descended on his world, Venea, and destroyed nearly all life. This corresponds to the same time frame as the Invid invasion on Earth. Stone is sure that there is a connection between these two events. When asked, Zarel can give no explanation to the source of the energy wave that attacked the Seeker. Shortly after finding Zarel, the 16FS is attacked by the robots Zarel feared so. He calls them the Robotrons, but to the 16FS, they are known as the Inorganics. The Inorganics are the robot fighting force of the Invid. This strengthens the connection of the two planetary invasions. A final piece of the puzzle slides into place. At the battleground with the Inorganics, Lord discovers a plant that can only be the Invid Flower of Life.
The discovery of the Flower of Life is key. According to the Regress, the supreme ruler of the Invid, the only source of the Flower in the known universe was Earth. It was stolen from the Invid centuries ago by the Robotech Master, Zor. Zor used the Invid Flower of Life to create protoculture, the basic of all Robotechnology. Zor hid his protoculture factory in his battlecruiser. The battlecruiser was Zor's bargaining chip to maintain power over the other Robotech Masters. When the Invid attacked the Robotech Masters in search of their Flower of Life, Zor sent the cruiser deep into hyperspace. The cruiser emerged on Earth and crash landed on Macross Island. It ultimately became the Super Dimensional Fortress 1(SDF-1). The SDF-1 was destroyed during First Robotech War which drives the Robotech Masters to invade the Earth. During that conflict, Zor's protoculture factory is damaged and its protoculture supply mutates into the Invid Flower of Life. Finally, the Invid descend on Earth, in search of the Flower, their sole food supply. As the invasion concludes, the Regress evolves into a higher life form, no longer dependant on the Flower. She also ensures humanity that there is no more of the Flower anywhere. Yet here it is.
The 16FS tracked the source of the Flower to the planet's North Pole. The Inorganics pursue them. During the ensuing battle, Lord's Thunderfire is downed and he is assumed dead. The 16FS are on the verge of being destroyed when the Seeker arrives with reinforcements. Stone and the others return to Seeker and inform the leadership of their discovery. Stone is sadden by Lord's apparent death, but finds herself growing closer to the alien, Zarel. Strong questions Zarel, but the alien offers no useful information. Pryor suspects that Zarel is being less than honest. He is further upset by the fact that Stone is becoming more interested in the alien, a feeling she had reserved for Lord, Pryor's close friend.
Strong, meanwhile, is aware of the importance of finding protoculture and is determine to keep it out of the Inorganics' hands. He cannot, however understand why the Inorganics are interested in pursuing the protoculture if their masters, the Invid have left the galaxy.
The Inorganics have massed their forces on one of Venea's moons. The computer, the hive mind, which controls the Inorganics, has been acting odd - almost emotional. The Inorganics are planning for a huge assault at the North Pole, the assumed source of the protoculture.
Lord, it turns out, is not dead. His crash sends him thousands of feet below the ice's surface. He finds himself in a massive tunnel. Exploring, Lord finds a young girl, Spundora. Spundora at first mistakes Lord for an Inorganic. Once she discovers he is human, she is quite taken by him. Spundora leads Lord to an underground complex where she lives. 'Spunky', as Lord has nicknamed Spundora, introduces Lord to her father, Rytar. Rytar is a scientist, who along with others is conducting a search for the concentration of protoculture. He and Lord compare notes and come to the conclusion that both of their civilization has a vested interest in helping the other's. Rytar is evasive on the true nature of the underground complex. As Lord continues his visit, he and Spunky grow closer. Meanwhile, on the Seeker, Stone finds herself in an awkward position. Zarel is devolving strong feeling for her. She too, is attracted to the alien, but is unsure if she should pursue it, so close the Lord's apparent death.
In deep space, the hive mind becomes aware of the Seeker's activities on Venea. When the planetary defense system knock the Seeker out of hyperspace, a spike of protoculture reading went out. The hive mind sends an attack force of 1 million ships to secure this resource. The attack force folds through space and fortifies a position on one of the Venean moons. The arrival of the Inorganics causes another spike of protoculture energy. Amazingly, it is coming from near the location where Lord disappeared. The Inorganics move in to capture the protoculture as the Seeker sends out its Thunderfire fighters to intercept them. Zarel is very insistence that he accompanies Stone and her forces into battle. Despite the protest of Pryor, who never liked Zarel, Stone take him in her Thunderfire.
Meanwhile, the first of the attacking Inorganics reach the polar base. Rytar, reveals the base's true mission. In addition to searching for the protoculture on the planet, the base is the secret headquarters for the Venean military. Hidden underground, all throughout the planet are hundreds of bases. In them, 12.5 million Veneans, the entire male population between 18 and 35 years old, lie in suspended animation. They have been in status since the last invasion of the Inorganics and during this time, the machines that kept them asleep have been providing their subconscious minds with tactics and instructions on how to be a space combat force. Rytar and his comrades have been awaiting the return of the Inorganics to launch this counterattack. Rytar pleas with Lord to escape the base with his daughter before the Inorganics penetrate its defenses. Redundantly, Spunky goes with Lord as her father prepares to awaken the soldiers. As Spunky and Lord escape, an attack reveals a large tunnel underneath the base. Lord takes Spunky into the tunnel.
It is 2054, 10 years after the end of the Invid Invasion, the United Earth Government (UEG) goes about the task of rebuilding the planet. The population, estimated to be at 6 billion at the beginning of the century, now is closer to 90 - 100 million. The Invid Flower of Life has affected virtually every ecosystem on Earth. The oceans have been restored to their former glory. Most of the jungles and rainforests have returned. Earth is once more than capable of supporting life. The UEG has reorganized its military into two main commands. The new Army of the Southern Cross is responsible of the defense of the planet while the Robotech Expeditionary Forces (REF) is tasked with the exploration of space. There is some resistance to the sending half of the military into space but it is quickly put down. The REF is centered on the new starship, United Earth Space Ship (UESS) SDF Seeker. The Seeker is the largest man made space craft, ever. The story opens with the Seeker, high in orbit over the city of Newmon. Newmon is built on the site of the old Monument City and is the largest settlement in the world. Among other things, it is the home of the Robotech Academy. Our heroes, Jason Lord and Gerry Pryor have just graduated as ensigns in the REF. They have one last night on the town before blasting off with the Seeker on its deep-space mission. As they are prone to do, the pair swiftly gets into trouble Also true to form it is centered on a woman. The pair seemingly escapes, only to discover the next day that the woman in question is their commanding officer, Lt Commander Loya Stone. They are all assigned to the 16th Fighter Squadron (16FS), an attack unit of Veritech Thunderfires. The Thunderfire is the latest fighter craft in the REF inventory. Despite their rocky meeting, there is chemistry between Stone and Lord.
The Seeker, under the command of Admiral Strong, leaves Earth orbit on its mission: To seek out allies to band together against any future aggressors like the Invid or the Robotech Masters. The great ship executes a space fold and leaves behind our solar system. As the journey gets underway, we are introduced to the cast. In addition to Lord, Pryor and Stone, there is Lt Marcus Phillips, Stone's second in command. Also, there's Ensign Conrad Troy, an old friend of Lord's. He is assigned to another Thunderfire squadron. A support character is Captain Stel, the commander of the 1st Space Fleet Wing (1SFW). Our heroes pass the time mostly training. Stone notices that Lord has piloting skills vastly superior to his peers. She questions him on this and he replies with an unsatisfactorily 'that's classified' answer. There are other moments of tension between the two and everyone notices the attraction between them except Lord and Stone.
During its fold, the Seeker is unexplainably drawn back into real space in the middle of an asteroid field. Capt Stel deploys the 1SFW to destroy the asteroid before they can damage the Seeker. Primarily through the efforts of Lord, the ship is saved. It is discover that this phenomenon is no accident. The Seeker tracks an electromagnetic energy wave coming from a distant planet. The 16FS is assigned to investigate. Shorthanded due to an injury, Troy is reassigned to the 16FS. Our heroes reach the planet and discover that it appears uninhibited. There is no sign of anything that could have produced the massive energy wave that knocked the Seeker out of hyperspace. Still, they investigate. During their time on the planet, Lord and Stone grow closer. It appears that a romance is forming. Lord tells Stone the secret of his flying skills. Stone is moved by this show of faith.
Eventually, the 16FS discover a native of the planet, Zarel. He attacks them under the false impression that they are robots. Once Zarel realizes his error, he explains his hatred of mechanical beings. Ten years ago, a vast army of robots descended on his world, Venea, and destroyed nearly all life. This corresponds to the same time frame as the Invid invasion on Earth. Stone is sure that there is a connection between these two events. When asked, Zarel can give no explanation to the source of the energy wave that attacked the Seeker. Shortly after finding Zarel, the 16FS is attacked by the robots Zarel feared so. He calls them the Robotrons, but to the 16FS, they are known as the Inorganics. The Inorganics are the robot fighting force of the Invid. This strengthens the connection of the two planetary invasions. A final piece of the puzzle slides into place. At the battleground with the Inorganics, Lord discovers a plant that can only be the Invid Flower of Life.
The discovery of the Flower of Life is key. According to the Regress, the supreme ruler of the Invid, the only source of the Flower in the known universe was Earth. It was stolen from the Invid centuries ago by the Robotech Master, Zor. Zor used the Invid Flower of Life to create protoculture, the basic of all Robotechnology. Zor hid his protoculture factory in his battlecruiser. The battlecruiser was Zor's bargaining chip to maintain power over the other Robotech Masters. When the Invid attacked the Robotech Masters in search of their Flower of Life, Zor sent the cruiser deep into hyperspace. The cruiser emerged on Earth and crash landed on Macross Island. It ultimately became the Super Dimensional Fortress 1(SDF-1). The SDF-1 was destroyed during First Robotech War which drives the Robotech Masters to invade the Earth. During that conflict, Zor's protoculture factory is damaged and its protoculture supply mutates into the Invid Flower of Life. Finally, the Invid descend on Earth, in search of the Flower, their sole food supply. As the invasion concludes, the Regress evolves into a higher life form, no longer dependant on the Flower. She also ensures humanity that there is no more of the Flower anywhere. Yet here it is.
The 16FS tracked the source of the Flower to the planet's North Pole. The Inorganics pursue them. During the ensuing battle, Lord's Thunderfire is downed and he is assumed dead. The 16FS are on the verge of being destroyed when the Seeker arrives with reinforcements. Stone and the others return to Seeker and inform the leadership of their discovery. Stone is sadden by Lord's apparent death, but finds herself growing closer to the alien, Zarel. Strong questions Zarel, but the alien offers no useful information. Pryor suspects that Zarel is being less than honest. He is further upset by the fact that Stone is becoming more interested in the alien, a feeling she had reserved for Lord, Pryor's close friend.
Strong, meanwhile, is aware of the importance of finding protoculture and is determine to keep it out of the Inorganics' hands. He cannot, however understand why the Inorganics are interested in pursuing the protoculture if their masters, the Invid have left the galaxy.
The Inorganics have massed their forces on one of Venea's moons. The computer, the hive mind, which controls the Inorganics, has been acting odd - almost emotional. The Inorganics are planning for a huge assault at the North Pole, the assumed source of the protoculture.
Lord, it turns out, is not dead. His crash sends him thousands of feet below the ice's surface. He finds himself in a massive tunnel. Exploring, Lord finds a young girl, Spundora. Spundora at first mistakes Lord for an Inorganic. Once she discovers he is human, she is quite taken by him. Spundora leads Lord to an underground complex where she lives. 'Spunky', as Lord has nicknamed Spundora, introduces Lord to her father, Rytar. Rytar is a scientist, who along with others is conducting a search for the concentration of protoculture. He and Lord compare notes and come to the conclusion that both of their civilization has a vested interest in helping the other's. Rytar is evasive on the true nature of the underground complex. As Lord continues his visit, he and Spunky grow closer. Meanwhile, on the Seeker, Stone finds herself in an awkward position. Zarel is devolving strong feeling for her. She too, is attracted to the alien, but is unsure if she should pursue it, so close the Lord's apparent death.
In deep space, the hive mind becomes aware of the Seeker's activities on Venea. When the planetary defense system knock the Seeker out of hyperspace, a spike of protoculture reading went out. The hive mind sends an attack force of 1 million ships to secure this resource. The attack force folds through space and fortifies a position on one of the Venean moons. The arrival of the Inorganics causes another spike of protoculture energy. Amazingly, it is coming from near the location where Lord disappeared. The Inorganics move in to capture the protoculture as the Seeker sends out its Thunderfire fighters to intercept them. Zarel is very insistence that he accompanies Stone and her forces into battle. Despite the protest of Pryor, who never liked Zarel, Stone take him in her Thunderfire.
Meanwhile, the first of the attacking Inorganics reach the polar base. Rytar, reveals the base's true mission. In addition to searching for the protoculture on the planet, the base is the secret headquarters for the Venean military. Hidden underground, all throughout the planet are hundreds of bases. In them, 12.5 million Veneans, the entire male population between 18 and 35 years old, lie in suspended animation. They have been in status since the last invasion of the Inorganics and during this time, the machines that kept them asleep have been providing their subconscious minds with tactics and instructions on how to be a space combat force. Rytar and his comrades have been awaiting the return of the Inorganics to launch this counterattack. Rytar pleas with Lord to escape the base with his daughter before the Inorganics penetrate its defenses. Redundantly, Spunky goes with Lord as her father prepares to awaken the soldiers. As Spunky and Lord escape, an attack reveals a large tunnel underneath the base. Lord takes Spunky into the tunnel.