a/n:
I think it's necessary to take a moment and discuss this chapter's content. Please be advised: it contains material that may be considered graphic. I've re-written it many times and run it through multiple edits, and I believe that the content here would be fitting for a Robotech episode, albeit a darker one. I've also tried to keep everything centered and relevant to future events in the story. I feel that I really need this chapter, but again, it may be a stretch for some Robotech fans. Feel free to judge me accordingly. =)
Chapter 10
Rick stepped down from his VF-1 Guardian, covered in tactical armor and cradling an assault rifle. The landing strip was cratered with blast holes. All around him, the hangars were crushed and burned down. The base's control tower was destroyed. Rick tried to keep from looking at the tower.
Joons and Martinez skidded to a halt beside Rick's fighter. Their Guardians lowered and both pilots climbed from the cockpits.
"The perimeter is clear," said Joons. "There isn't a single pod anywhere."
"They're gone?" asked Rick, loading a magazine into his rifle.
"Every trace of them," said Martinez. "Looks like they decided to trash the place and leave."
The TC-1 roared down from the sky, escorted by Eo Prime's black Veritech. The transport craft hovered to the surface, and the VF-1 switched to Guardian and landed at its side.
Eo climbed from the cockpit. His ladder folded up, and the canopy shut automatically. His chest, arms and legs were plated with silver armor, and a steel helmet covered his head, with long slits for the eyes.
"The base has been abandoned," he said. His voice was altered by the helmet's speaker. "Perhaps a warring Malcontent faction has pressed them away."
"I doubt it," said Rick. "There were enough pods here to bring down the base. I'm sure they could have defended it..."
The TC-1's hatch slid open. Lisa stepped out, wearing a tactical suit and holstering a sidearm pistol at her thigh. She surveyed the area with nervous eyes. She skipped quickly over Rick, without making contact.
Rick felt his stomach grow uneasy again. "Okay..." he said tensely. "You all know the base floorplan. We're going to hit each computer terminal until we get one that's working."
He looked to Lisa. She turned around confidently, checking her munitions. He sighed, and shook his head.
"Joons, Martinez and Eo," he continued. "You'll wait on the roof in Building E-5. The commander and I will head straight for the Main Terminal. If it's dead, you'll have to break into E-5 and use the office computers there. Get in position and wait for my signal."
Joons and Martinez nodded, and ran stealthily for a large building at the edge of the landing strip. They stopped and turned back; Eo was not with them.
"I must accompany you, Commander Hunter," said Eo from behind his helmet.
"Eo," Rick said wearily. "We'll be fine. I gave you an order, and I expect it to be carried out."
But Eo refused. "Commander Hayes is not suited for combat situations. I will provide necessary cover for your insertion."
"Let him go!" called Martinez. "We can handle this!"
Rick nodded at Eo. "All right then," he said. "Come with us."
He quickly double-checked his gear, and waved for Lisa and Eo to follow him. They took a less conspicuous route, sneaking through the alley between two burned-out hangars. Rick had his eyes on every dark shadow, and he aimed his rifle at each meaningless noise around him.
Eo followed him closely, slinking into shadows, ready to lay down supressing fire if necessary. He knew Rick's commands like clockwork. Even Rick's waves and hand signals were perfectly recognized. It was as if Eo Prime was a tried and true RDF soldier. It offered Rick a little comfort.
But for every calculated move Eo made, Lisa tripped on another loud object. She barely kept pace. Her breathing was too quick; it threw Rick off his game. She did not have her gun drawn, and the magazine in her pistol was probably her only ammunition.
She caught her foot on a piece of concrete, and splashed into a puddle of water. Rick stopped and turned around. He quickly offered a helping hand. But Lisa stood on her own, and brushed off her weatherproof suit.
"Keep going," she said, retaining a professional tone of voice.
He shook his head, and stepped up to the front of the line. "Last chance to turn back," he sighed.
Lisa growled in frustration. "No!" she cried, clenching her fists.
Rick continued his unfaltering pace. "Fine," he replied, without turning his head."Keep it down, please. We don't want our presence found out."
They pressed on for the heavily secured door at the end of the alley. Rick felt a terrible lack of confidence as he stepped quickly between the shambles of the base. Lisa followed as quickly as she could, and in perfect silence. But her shaking breaths kept a foothold on the corner of Rick's mind.
Eo Prime covered their movements perfectly. His steps broke the concrete slabs under his feet.
Joons leaned carefully over the roof's edge, scanning the surroundings with the sniper scope built into his helmet. The area was clear, but the chance of a Zentraedi encounter was enough to make him jumpy.
"Will you get over here?" said Martinez, knelt down on the ground. "You're asking to get shot, man."
"They throw a grenade up here and we're finished," said Joons. He slinked away from the edge.
Martinez shook his head. "That's where you start using your head. See this plate glass?" He pointed to a large glass sunroof beside him. "We'd blow this baby out..."
"And fall twenty feet onto a bunch of computers," Joons finished. "And then he throws the second grenade, and we get humiliated and blown up."
Martinez chuckled. "Whatever." He toyed with his rifle's safety. "I wish they'd hurry up and call us already."
"I still think we should have gone with the others," said Joons.
"Hunter said the'd be fine! Don't worry about it. With any luck, they won't need us anyway."
Joons shook his head. "Whatever," he repeated.
They noticed movement in the office below, and slowly backed away. A pair of soldiers entered the room, dressed in armor that was pieced together from many different suits. They bore older-model submachine guns. After checking the space, they waved to the door.
A young man stepped inside. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with long black hair in a ponytail. His armor was more ornamental, but less effective-looking than the soldiers'. His weapon, however, was a powerful Zentraedi blaster rifle.
Martinez pointed at the young man. "That's Lynn Kyle!" he whispered. "The activist from Monument!"
"I thought he was a pacifist," said Joons.
"I'd say he's had a change of heart. But what's he doing here?"
Joons slipped, and his hand bumped against the glass. Lynn's soldiers quickly raised their weapons and riddled the skylight with bullets. Martinez and Joons rolled away from the shattering glass.
"Way to go!" growled Martinez. He spun quickly into the corner of the window, and pinned a soldier to the wall with gunfire.
Joons felt a shard of glass rip the shoulder of his tactical suit. He fired a burst of shots through the window. The second guard fell silent.
The skylight crashed in. Joons and Martinez dropped to the floor on zipline cords, training their sights on Lynn. Joons edged his gun barrel down toward the floor. "Throw your weapon to us!" he began. "Place your hands on your--"
"Shut up, Joons!" said Martinez. He gripped the trigger carefully. "I've got half a mind to drop you now, Lynn," he sneered.
Lynn Kyle thinned his eyes, and held his weapon across his chest. His eyes were cold and assured, as he stared down the barrels of their weapons.
"Yes," he replied with confidence, "I'd expect as much."
"You realize you're in a restricted military zone, don't you?"
Lynn shook his head. "I thought you'd surrendered it to the Malcontent. My comrades and I risked the danger...we hoped we could find some supplies for the peace corps." He nodded his head at the fallen soldiers. "But you seem to have killed them."
"Let's not forget who shot first!" said Martinez. "Now throw down your weapon and surrender, or I'll pull this trigger again!"
Lynn rolled his eyes. "If you'd only give peace a chance. We'd all be so much happier..."
He fired a shot from his blaster rifle. A charged ball of energy bounced off the wall, and seared into Martinez' arm. Joons returned fire but his shot was wide. Lynn Kyle kicked down the door and ran out, shooting random blasts behind him as he went.
Martinez screamed in pain and collapsed against the wall. "Aughh! Oh God it burns!"
Joons looked to the door and to Lynn's disappearing silhouette. He stayed put, reaching for his radio. But a piece of metal from the window had jammed through the device.
The south entrance to the Main Complex stood before Rick and his party. The computer terminal was still running, but the bars that ran across the door were melted together by blaster fire.
"It might not open," said Rick. "But let's give it a try."
Lisa stepped up and entered her security code. The computer denied her. She gasped, and tried the code again. Another denial.
"Step aside," said Eo. He turned his head toward the computer screen. Thin cables protruded from the eye slits in his helmet, and snaked their way into the console. The computer granted access, and the bars gave way, letting the doors open halfway.
Lisa breathed a cry of shock, as Eo retracted the cables back into his eyes. Rick felt just as terrified by the creaure. But trying to comfort Lisa would only make her more resolute, he thought. The best he could do was step in front of her, and let Eo Prime lead the way.
They entered the compound in silence. A horrid display waited inside. Bodies of RDF officers lay in the blood-stained corridors. Broken, mutilated, and impaled on cracked pipelines; their faces lay frozen in cold terror. The atmosphere reeked of spilled blood.
Rick grabbed Lisa and pressed her against the wall beside the door. He looked straight through her helmet and into her terrified eyes.
"Lisa...this has to stop! You're not going any further. I can't put you through this. I know you're afraid...I'm afraid too...but I can do this on my own."
She tried to still her quivering lips. Her hands grasped Rick's arms, and she pulled them away. "D-don't...touch me. I'm...n-not leaving you!"
"Fine!" Rick said, and reached for her hand. "We're leaving together. I'll take you back."
She pulled her hand away. "Take... take me back! Back.. t-to what? To Sever? To the towers...that all look the same? To the Veritechs...and the dead friends...and the nightmares..."
Lisa's eyes shook with hysteria. She stared past Rick's face, to the hulking figure of Eo Prime. He stood behind Rick and looked down at her silently. Through the slits in his helmet, she could see the wires and cables snaking past each other.
She let forth an agonizing scream. Rick reached to catch her, but she fell hard against the wall. Her helmet's glass cracked open.
"There's nowhere to go!" she cried. "Nowhere! It finds us...w-we can't escape! Never escape!"
She lunged forward and knocked Rick over. Her steps echoed through the halls, as she ran through the gauntlet of bodies and disappeared in the shadows.
Before Rick could stand, Eo Prime was already following her. He weaved through the maze of broken steel and concrete, slinging his weapon over his back and clawing at the exposed wiring. Bloody officers hung from the ceiling; he rolled under them without a look back.
Rick tried his best to catch up. His mind raced in panic as he climbed into the mess of rubble and corpses. Oh God...oh, Lisa...
Lisa fell to the ground, exhausted. The base's Main Terminal lay all around her. The computers were demolished. A fire was spreading through the room, igniting the screens in the far corner. Bullet holes covered the walls, and broken glass littered the floor. Human and Zentraedi corpses were fallen from the battle.
Lisa's eyes raced over the terminal. One computer was untouched. She stumbled up from the floor and reached desparately for the controls. A dead officer was seated before them; she threw his body aside.
The power was cut. No response came from the computer. Lisa cried terribly and threw the keyboard aside.
A hand gripped her leg tightly. She howled madly and fell against the floor. A Zentraedi soldier rose up before her, dreadfully wounded. His torn body dripped blood, and he shouted in a frenzy of pain. The soldier raise his combat knife.
The armored body of Eo Prime stepped in the way. The knife skidded off his chest without harm. Eo's hand retracted into his armor, and a double-bladed axe unfolded in its place. As he lifted his arm high, the weapon spun like a razorblade and emitted a mechanical hum.
Eo swung down his arm, and scattered the Zentraedi to all corners of the room.
Lisa convulsed in terror. Her screams shook the glass in her helmet. She reached to hide her eyes from the sight of Eo Prime, as he bent over her, with his blood-soaked axe still twirling in place.
Rick shoved him aside, and fell on the floor beside her. He wrapped her against his body, shielding her face with his breastplate. His hands shook, as he struggled to keep her armored body close to him.
She looked up, with faltering, distant eyes. Tears ran across her face. She sighed wearily, and fainted into his arms.
The entrance to Building E-5 broke down. Michael Joons emerged from inside, with Dan Martinez close behind. A bloody bandage was wrapped around Martinez' whole arm. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep up.
"Come on!" said Joons. "We can radio Commander Hunter from the TC-1!"
Martinez grimaced and sped up. "Dammit...the hell...did you miss him for?"
They stopped amid the landing strip. The pain was weakening Martinez, and the TC-1 and Veritechs were a far distance away. Joons spotted the three camoflauged fighters and the bulky transport, and a figure walking towards the TC-1. He tried to flag the man down, but there was no response.
"Hey..." Martinez wheezed. "Where's...that freak's Veritech?"
Joons looked again. The VF-1X was gone.
He heard the dull crunch of metal behind him. Spinning about, he brought up his rifle. But the noise had come from Eo Prime, hacking his way through a locked door with a spinning blade on his arm. The weapon disappeared as Eo stepped outside. He pulled up his assault rifle and checked the premises, then waved at Joons.
Rick climbed out of the Main Terminal building, behind Eo. His legs were painted with dried blood, and he cradled Lisa, motionless in his arms.
Joons let down his rifle. He was speechless. But Eo gave a silent thumbs-up, allaying his fears.
It took some time for Rick to reach Joons' position. He struggled under the weight of Lisa's armored body, but refused to stop, or take help from Eo. The monstrous Zentraedi walked solemnly at his side.
When they grew close, Joons ran out and saluted to Rick. "Sir, I'm sorry, sir! My radio went dead..."
Rick passed silently by. His eyes remained cast upon Lisa's still body.
Eo pulled Joons aside. "Commander Hayes is alive," he said. "She is physically sound...but something has caused an undetectable wound upon her. Commander Hunter would not describe the matter in detail. He only stated that we must leave immediately. I fear that Commander Hunter has been wounded as well."
Joons nodded, and pointed at Martinez, who sat in pain on the cracked landing strip. "He's been shot in the arm. It was an energy rifle... he's gonna need a medic."
"Understood," said Eo. "We will call for assistance when we reach the transports."
Martinez gasped. "Joons!" he shouted, pointing with his good arm. "That guy...by the fighters...it's Lynn!"
An aircraft hangar exploded beside the Veritech group. From within the flames, a damaged Zentraedi battle pod stomped forth, blasting the surroundings with its head-mounted lasers. The un-manned Veritechs were quickly decimated. But the TC-1 transport was not fired upon. It launched off the ground and into the sky.
The battle pod stood high above the landing strip. It pounded toward Rick and his friends in a mad frenzy, melting giant laser holes in the ground around them. Joons, Eo, and Martinez quickly looked around, but there was no place to run for cover.
The battle pod stopped before Rick. He froze still and raised his eyes to the enormous machine. He swallowed dryly, and held Lisa closer. The pod focused its guns.
The air above cracked with a sonic boom. From above the clouds, the VF-1X dove sharply at the landing strip. Its shape altered as it fell, extending robotic arms and legs, folding the fuselage in half. Its wings locked together and slid away. And in the form of a Battloid soldier, the mighty black Veritech touched the ground.
It knelt over Rick and Lisa , shielding them as the pod fired down. The lasers deflected off of the powerful steel arms. The VF-1X quickly stood and pounded its fist through the battle pod's hard steel surface. The Battloid's hand ripped out a chunk of wires and gears.
The battle pod stumbled backward and fell with a thunderous crash. It tried to stand again, but the VF-1X kicked it back down. The Battloid cocked its gunpod, and blasted a roaring barrage of gunshots into the Zentraedi war machine. The pod was reduced to a mess of smoldering steel.
Eo stepped into the clearing, and his Veritech turned, and looked down at him. His shining helmet split into pieces, and they folded down into the armor around his neck. Eo's pale face widened into a smile, and his cold eyes returned the Veritech's stare.
"Thank you, Brother," he said.