Tron Bonne: Hey, you! Get to work on Battle for Terra, you lazy author!
MacrossGreen: Dammit, Tron! Stay outta here! Completely wrong game!
Tron: You mentioned another game in the last chapter, so what's the biggie of another one, hm?
MacrossGreen: sigh Damned muses... I might have to set you up with Andy!
Andy: looks up from playing Civilization 3 Huh? Who's that? sees Tron and his face goes pale Uh-oh...
Tron: grins and pulls out some rope Another mechanical genius, eh? MINE!
MacrossGreen: watches as Tron starts chasing Andy around If you guys recognize the game that Tron's from, two points for you! Sorry about the advertising, too. Now, on with the fic... before I have to clean up after them!
---
It was a glorious day at sea... at least, it was for one of the convoy commanders. Oh yes, Sheila was having a grand time, having practically been born on the ocean and having weathered several powerful storms in her lifetime as well. She was grinning as she held the 'steering wheel' of her flagship. The waves battered against the hull of her powerful craft, and the only sound she could hear was her own humming to a tune of her own devising. Unfortunately, her bridge crew could hear her off-tuned humming, but they were rather brave about trying to not listen to it. Not really possible, but at least they managed to tune her out after so many days at sea.
"According to the map, Orange Star should only be a few days out from here, right?" she called out, the humming stopped and the bridge crew seemed to smile all at the same time. Finally! The officer in charge of keeping track of their course nodded to her before speaking, realizing that she wouldn't look away from ahead of the ship unless it was an emergency.
"Yes, ma'am. According to the map, and our scouting submarines, we are less than a week away from the continent. According to our submarine commanders, there is indication of mobile artillery in the area, but nothing else as of yet." the officer said, and the CO simply smiled. The Orange Star military was mobilized, was it? Or was it Orange Star? Perhaps it was Black Hole in disguise? No... the officer wouldn't have left out a detail like that. Her men knew better than to make that sort of mistake. Their country had suffered for years under Black Hole's oppressive hand, and a single man or woman from this generation didn't have some memory of that in their lives.
Black Hole or Orange Star, it mattered not to this CO. If the people on land attempted to attack, she had a force that could overwhelm most any unwelcome defenders that might be on the shores of the land she would be seeing soon. Obviously, Orange Star was wiggling the bait a little... perhaps she should tease the landlubbers by nibbling on the worm? It was an interesting idea, to say the least. But perhaps she should speak with her fellow CO about her idea first?
Now that she thought about the newcomer to the rank of being a CO, she couldn't help but to consider the boy. He was average height, weight, and wasn't abnormally cute or attractive. He was simply... there. But she knew him fairly well, ever since the day that he had been reported to have survived Sturm's Meteor Strike attack during one of the massacres that had taken place. Ever since the boy had joined the military, he'd served with distinction under Lance's command during the drive to overthrow the Black Hole military that had kept the country under their rule for so long. There was something about Arik that made her smile, though. It was his determination to keep his people as safe as possible and still win through the day. It was something to be respected...
Unlike the bitch that came to mind after a moment of thought. The smile that had graced her face dissolved away into an instant of pure hatred. Her eyes closed for a split second as she allowed her feelings to take control. The woman that acted so callously with her forces, using a battlefield as a playground. Always, the girl thought herself superior and with better tactics than anyone else in the world. That damned Black Hole CO that used her own hometown as a place to test her new weapons on. Powerful tanks, stronger than medium tanks and with enough firepower to wipe out most anything on the ground. Ones that seemed to almost 'walk' over everything, especially infantry. Indeed, the Neotanks had been her design and had been tested on Silver Mountain's remaining cities after Black Hole had taken over the country.
Her eyes opened, a look of resolve on her face as the flash of anger passed by. She was in control once more, now. Lash, that's what Lance had said her name was. A selfish girl that would either get her way or kill any that would be in it. Without a doubt, she was the one that had engineered so many of Silver Mountain's defeats from the inside, either betrayed by their own countrymen or sent into chaos by a well-timed and coordinated attack. Sheila had faced her once, long ago... it was only on one of Lash's little changes of heart (she had a chaotic little mind, after all, and strange ideas that she entertained every so often) that had spared her life... but before her eyes, her father had been killed, cut down by an entire Neotank squad. She had been forced to watch, with her mother, as her father, a man that had done no wrong, was used as target practice by her troops with heavy machine guns.
"Get me Arik on the line. I need to go over a plan with him." she told the officer, finally. A phone was handed to her, and she asked for the CO of the other part of the fleet. It took a few moments, but then he was on the line. "Arik, I have an idea... I was wondering if you might be interested in joining in on it?"
---
"Oh..." was all that the CO of the second fleet had been saying for the longest time. Who would've known that he would get seasick? Maybe it was the small storm that they'd passed through the other day, but since about the halfway point between Orange Star and Silver Mountain, the entire trip was getting to him. Not even the seasickness pills were helping much, though now he felt much better than he had the other day. Arik wasn't used to being in a ship- a tank, a bomber, a plane, a copter, no problem. But ships weren't exactly his specialty... not that his naval units were weaker, by any means, he just didn't like being in a ship for extended periods of time.
Then, there was a knock on his door. He'd been in his quarters for a while now, trying to keep up his strength. He hadn't been able to eat anything and keep it down for two days now, thanks to this damned sickness. "What is it?" he called out, and immediately winced. His throat was parched, and his voice just wasn't the same. The officer came in and saluted sharply, and Arik returned it before nodding at him, before pouring a glass of water for himself and taking a sip from it. Ah, much better. "Go ahead, officer."
"Sir! You have a call from CO Sheila, sir!" the man said, and Arik groaned a little. The man was far too... chipper, for his tastes right now. And loud. Arik nodded, and took another sip. Who knew how long they would be talking on the phone? Sheila was pretty talkative at times. The officer left, and Arik left behind him, pausing only to shut the door to his quarters before following again.
"Hello?" he asked once he made it to the phone, and he smiled slightly as he listened to the woman's idea. Ah... try to draw out the forces onto the shoreline before they arrive? Using the submarines, that is. He nodded slightly, still smiling as he listened to a few more details. "Uh-huh... okay... Yeah... huh? What was that last bit?" he asked. He knew he had only sounded like he wasn't listening for a moment there, but then she threw him for a loop, asking if he would ask her out on a date! "You tease!" he exclaimed, his smile growing bigger as he shook his head. A few more words from his partner on this operation had him laugh, and then he just stared at the ceiling for a moment, quiet. "I don't think it is such a good idea to be talking about that sort of thing when we're so close to our objective, is it? Maybe after the operation is over, we can talk seriously about this." he told her, serious but still smiling. At least the ship crew that were at their stations around him didn't have a clue as to what she'd asked!
She was a nice person, he thought to himself. Why had she been so mean to Net, though? There wasn't any real reason for it, as far as he knew, but then again those two had been CO's for far longer than he had been. He set the phone down and chuckled softly, closing his eyes as he relaxed for a moment. That little distraction certainly brought him back into good spirits, and he looked around the room slowly before grinning slightly. "I'll be in the mess hall if anyone needs me." he told the crew, and then was off. The crew knew better than to follow him- he wound up in the head, more often than not, after he was done eating.
In Orange Star ---
"Nell, our forces are in place. The recon units in the forests near the coast have reported that there are a total of three submarines that have just come up to the surface. From first glance, they do not appear to be Black Hole in origin." Andy called in. Sami was out in the field with her infantry at the moment, gathering more intel. He'd seen this sort of a move before, back when he had been battling Sonja a few years ago, when Sturm had played them all for fools. It probably meant that they were dealing with someone who wanted to keep them thinking, maybe attack the submarines.
"Andy, don't pull forward with any of your forces. They're obviously trying to bait you into a battle." Nell replied, after a moment of consideration. It was the same information that he'd come up with, no less, which made the mechanical whiz kid grin. Ah, yes. Dealing with Sonja had not been fun in the slightest, especially since she'd had the advantage on all three of the Orange Star CO's that she had faced. Well, he had learned better than to tempt a fog of war situation by leaving his troops exposed. At this point, though, he knew that his units were well hidden and supplied by APCs. His other troops that could not get into the forests were all hidden far enough away from the beach to keep them out of sight, for now.
"Will do, Nell. We've also got three of Sami's new units patrolling the forests near the beach. If they try to land, we'll have a nasty surprise for them. Out!" he said, and put down the phone. Sami and Andy had been working for the past few months, ever since the end of the Black Hole's last invasion, on a new type of unit that would be able to be as useful as infantry. Max had even helped, knowing that since infantry fell under his jurisdiction as well, that this new unit would be beneficial to every Orange Star CO that was in active service.
"Sami's new units?" a voice asked, and Andy turned quickly as soon as he heard it, to face the person that had asked him the question. There hadn't been the normal 'Sir' after the question had been asked- it must either be someone very new to the army, or... Sonja?! Andy blinked in surprise, his face going a bit pale as he shook his head. Why would the queen of intelligence gathering be here... unless to try and learn, first-hand, about this new possible threat to their countries. "Hello, Andy. It has been a while." she said to him, and Andy nodded in agreement. She was certainly attractive, in his eyes, and he had a bit of difficulty keeping eye contact with her as a result of that.
"Yeah, it has been... come to watch the new people come to say hello, Sonja?" he asked, a small smile on his face. At least he wasn't nearly as hyper about this as he once probably would have been, he thought to himself. Little did he know that she was thinking the same thing as well. She nodded slightly and looked about the field HQ slowly before her gaze fell upon the maps and pattern of the troop deployment. Sonja chuckled a little, seeing little that she would change of the battle plan at all, if anything, considering the fact that she would deploy her troops in much the same manner.
"You could say that. My father and Sensei have decided that they would feel much better about this new fleet if they had some real information on them. Do you have any yet?" she asked him. Sonja was glad to be with her friend again, to tell the truth. How exactly she had been defeated by him on a few occasions was not very clear, but obviously his advisor had had something to do with it. But since then, she had respect for Orange Star's youngest CO. He had no obvious weakness or strength with his units, unlike most any other CO in the known world. But, she forced her mind back to the task at hand. She couldn't help- had only arrived via a T. Copter, which was now hidden away for the duration of this operation.
"None yet, Sonja." came Sami's voice as she returned to the HQ after her checking up on her new units. They seemed ready to go, and the equipment had worked flawlessly so far. This experiment in technology for infantry units was surprisingly simple and rather cost-effective for the increased firepower that they carried with them, so their army could deploy them rather easily. "But, they don't seem to be Black Hole. No obvious colorings or flags that declare their allegiance, either. Personally... I don't think it is the Black Hole at all." she told the Yellow Comet CO. Oh, these two didn't care for each other, not in the slightest. It was like watching two wolves that were about to fight for dominance over an entire pack of wolves, Andy thought. Damned nature channels. Why did he put up with watching them these days? Ah well.
"I see. Thank you, Sami." Sonja replied, smiling nicely enough. They knew when to put their differences aside, at least. Sami nodded, and grinned slightly. She knew that this little 'princess' of Yellow Comet had no information regarding their newest military unit that they had deployed, and from here, still had no idea about it either. It was a good thing Sami had returned- it looked like Andy might have been about to tell her about it. He was smitten with the girl, obviously... but it wasn't very obvious whether or not she returned his feelings. She was a mysterious girl, and she had gotten the part of being a spy down very well. How Sturm had caught her during the first war was still a mystery.
There was an unresolved rivalry between these two CO's. Sami was a superb reconnaisance operative, whereas Sonja is the one in charge of the largest intelligence network in the world. But obviously, the reach of her network didn't extend everywhere, or else she would know who was coming up so quickly upon their shores. Sami couldn't help but to grin as she figured out a few things. Sonja rarely did anything that her father did approve of- and he was so fond of his daughter that he would never let her go out to try and find out just who would be creeping up upon Orange Star without being coerced into doing so.
---
Andy was checking up with the troops as the tension continued to build between the two, slowly but surely. "So, what is little miss princess doing on the front lines, hm? Didn't you learn not to stick your head above the crowd from your father, so you don't get hurt?" she asked, the look on Sami's face showing that she knew better, but that she was simply teasing the Yellow Comet CO. Sonja recoiled in shock- she'd never been talked to like that by anyone. Not her old friends while growing up (few though they were, of course), not by other CO's. Not even Sensei had taken that sort of tone with her, though both she and the old man had used that tone of voice with Kanbei to allow her to get her way from time to time. Sonja couldn't help but to feel a bit angry as a result of being played with, and Sami's sarcastic grin grew a bit more as Sonja's emotion became apparent on her face.
Sami was surprisingly pretty happy at this point. She'd cornered Sonja almost too easily! Truly, the girl with seemingly ice in her veins had warmed up and grown in her maturity, since when first they had met. Emotions had arisen in the CO, giving her a strength and ability that she hd lacked before. What had changed the intel queen to become more aware of not only her surroundings, but of people as well? Perhaps she now fully realized the ramifications of her decisions as a CO. That there was life and death in the pursuit of defending one's people, it was a constant. Unknown to Sami, Sonja had learned that truly as a result of the last war.
Dealing with Lash had thrown that in her face, to where the girl could no longer ignore the realities of war. Injured and wounded men were as much a part of war as those who lived and were healthy enough to fight. Having to create a shield for damaged units by using men was a part of war- but since finding, up close and personal, the fact that the wounded and dead might have become such from her own bad decisions, she had to find a center, within herself. She had been by herself for nearly a month to come to terms with reality, meditation a rather necessary part of her abilities now. Logical decisions could only be made when one is calm and at peace. Sonja learned this, and also that emotions can play a useful part in war... in moderation, at least.
"I am here because I wished to see these new units myself, Sami. I heard from Grit about the fleets coming your way, so I thought I should get a good look at it first hand." she replied. Sami blinked- now, she was the one who was being childish, wasn't she? Trying to goad Sonja into a fight when she should preparing for one on another front, no less. Sami sighed now, backing away from what she had said earlier and from Sonja's response. Life was give and take- if you give something, you must be prepared to take something in return.
---
Andy may have been dealing with a few reports and checking up on troop positions, but he wasn't as oblivious as the two women seemed to think he was. He had glanced over from time to time, to make sure that no fighting would break out between them. Strange, how Sami would get angry at Sonja for no reason... Oh, wait! He just remembered that they had had words during the first war, though he had not been able to hear them when they had spoken. Obviously, there was something unfinished between the two women, and if the wars had taught him anything, Andy knew now that it was only folly to get in the way of warring women.
Then, he recieved a communication from one of his recon units that he had kept stationed inland, in a forest to remain hidden from view of anything or anyone coming from behind. They had sighted a small group of vehicles heading in his direction, mostly recon units and a few tanks as well. The make of the vehicles were, however, made it easy to identify their origins. "Well now.. who would've thought that they'd be on their way, eh?" he said under his breath, a smile on Andy's face as he turned towards the two ladies that were no longer actually fighting one another. "Hey, guess what? Green Earth's on the way with some vehicles, and I don't mean planes or ships. That can only mean one person, right?" he told them, and both Sami and Sonja looked over to him.
In all of Green Earth, there was but one CO who specialized in ground combat with vehicles. Unlike Eagle and Drake, who each specialized in planes and ships respectively, there was a CO who had returned to her homeland during the second war. Black Hole had dug their troops into the entire country, nearly conquering all of it before she had managed to return. "Sounds like Jess." Sonja remarked. Sami just nodded in agreement. Strange, Andy thought. Three lady CO's in one place, each one from a different country. They had representatives of practically every country now in one place.
"Hmm... I wonder if someone from Blue Moon will be coming as well, to see these newcomers?" Andy asked aloud, to which Sonja shook her head. Sami just looked amused at that thought. Andy grinned slowly and shrugged. It was just a thought, after all. It would be nice to see Grit or Colin again... But 'Nell's Papa" was someone that Andy couldn't really stand most of the time.
"No, Grit, Colin, and Olaf are a bit busy reinforcing their own armies right now. They will not be able to send someone to join us today. I must admit, I did not expect Jess to be the one to join from Green Earth." Sonja told the two Orange Star CO's. Andy shrugged again at her words and Sami just smiled a little. It was unusual that she wouldn't have heard something about Jess's coming before now, to tell the truth, but it didn't unnerve a single CO in the room. Not one person can know everything that occurs at a single time, not even Sonja.
---
"Well now, Sheila... it looks like your plan to draw them out failed this time, eh?" came Arik's voice over the phone. He couldn't help but to sigh- the enemy obviously saw through their bluff, and even after a day or two of keeping their submarines at the surface, the enemy artillery and rockets failed to advance. It was obvious, from the terrain, that they were rather wise to possible attack strategies along these lines. "Guess we'll have to simply go in and attack, but I must say, I don't think that they're Black Hole troops. They would have attacked us by now. None here know our ship designs, after all, save possibly the Black Hole CO's. These Orange Star CO's are a cautious bunch, obviously."
"I agree. We aren't dealing with Black Hole, now are we? But if we're gonna go ahead and establish radio contact, we'd better do it when we have the ability to do so. They haven't attempted to contact us yet. Why should we attempt it first?" she asked the younger CO. He was only younger by a few years, but Arik certainly knew what he was doing at this point. He was the CO with the least experience, but his plans had often met with success. Their range of their transmissions couldn't be sure to reach Orange Star, at this rate. They would need to make landfall to gain access to equipment that would allow them to contact them... that, or a face-to-face conversation with whoever the CO's in charge might be.
"Because, we are the invaders, Sheila. If this army that we know is ahead of us is Orange Star, and not Black Hole, then it would only be neighborly to speak with them, you know." Arik replied. He knew he was right about that, but there was little they could do until landfall was made tomorrow. They had not been fired upon yet- but they left several of their units behind, under escort, as two landers made their way towards the shore. One from each fleet were escorted to the shore by a trio of hovercraft. Yes, these hover tanks would make landfall tomorrow with the transports. They were one of several units that Silver Mountain had managed to create since Black Hole had been thrown from their country.
The tankers that had kept their ships supplied with fuel were themselves beginning to run low on fuel as well. Exchanging fuel had kept them going for a while, but they would only last another week or so before requiring refueling from land. The other naval unit that they had created was kept just behind the tankers, surrounded by battleships and cruisers. The time would soon come where they too would become very useful in battle. But not yet. The ace cards would soon be dealt, and if needed, they would be the first wave of attack. Arik couldn't help but to smile softly- the fact that his own contribution to the battlefield might be felt soon would be nice to know, but at this point, he simply wanted a peaceful resolution to the battle that was looming before them.
"I will take the initiative, Sheila. Allow me." he told his fellow commander. She gave her assent, and then he was off the phone, heading towards his cruiser's hangar bay. He smiled, seeing the T. Copter that was loaded, beside a B. Copter. "Lieutenant! Prepare this bird for launch. We are going over to the mainland, now, to see if there is any Black Hole force to be found on these shores." he told the man, and he saluted the officer. The Lieutenant saluted in return, and immediately went to the cockpit. Arik followed him, and took his seat in a chair beside the pilot's. Then, they were aloft, and in the air.
In the other fleet, Sheila had left the helm to watch from the window of the bridge of her ship, one hand on the clear glass as the T. Copter, unescorted, took off from the cruiser and headed towards the mainland. "Good luck, Arik. May you find the peace that we are all searching for." she said in her mind, not speaking aloud for her crew to hear. If he was fired upon before landfall could be made, then she would simply take control of all their forces and attack as best she could. There was far too little information now, and she would not allow the death of a fellow CO if she could help it. Not even Net deserved it, after all. The death that came with one who was far from home was something she hoped not to force, unless battle was waged for good reason.
---
"Well now... that's strange. A Transport Copter? Alone?" Andy exclaimed. It had drawn dark out- the day was over. The copter that had just launched from a cruiser would make it to the mainland with plenty of time before the end of the night. Either this was a trick... or someone wanted to talk. "The copter isn't Black Hole in design. Just like the ships!" he said.
"Well then, obviously it is someone else. And from the intel that you have received, Andy, I think I know who it is." came the voice of Green Earth's envoy. Jess smiled a little and stretched- she had arrived only a while ago with her small force, a force ill-suited to taking on ships or even flying units. "They have hovering tanks, they are using tanker ships. And they are sending a single transport copter over ahead of everyone? You have no knowledge of them, indeed, only a few people would have any information on these people. This is Silver Mountain, Andy. They are not likely to want war- I know of their land from my travels. I didn't tell anyone about them, because I doubt very much that anyone here would have been interested in them."
"Why didn't you mention them before? They could be very dangerous!" Sonja exclaimed, coming up to this woman who was quite a bit older than she was. Sami watched from near Andy's position, sitting at the command table, so to speak. Andy turned to Sami and smiled a little bit as the other two ladies quarreled.
"Ah... the suspense is killing me, Sami. Think that they'll want to talk peace, or maybe just want to say hello and go ahead and start a battle?" he asked the infantry specialist. Sami chuckled softly as she shook her head- cute. He'd become a bit more mature, but Andy was still a bit naive about things. In this, however, it was quite likely that he was right, on both counts. Never before in recent history did someone decide to come onto the mainland without a force before and behind him or her. In fact, only with necessary military force did anyone ever invade, so...
"It's obvious. Someone wants to talk with us, Andy. No one can win a war by using simply a transport copter, not even me. No one would come over without weapons unless they were either absolutely sure of themselves, or if they wanted to parlay first." she replied. Sonja and Jess stopped bickering and listened to what Sami had to say. Despite all their differences, both Jess and Sonja knew that Sami was most likely right. Only a fool, or someone who was absolutely sure of himself, or wanting to talk, could possibly take the path that whoever was inside the copter had taken. "And I suggest we meet this person, to see their intent. Attacking now could lead us all into war... and I don't want to know yet what that might lead to again.
Elsewhere, in a hidden base ---
"Heh.. hehehe... look at this! Why, if it is not our old Silver Mountain?" a voice said aloud into the small room that the owner of the voice reclined in. "My, how they've grown. Delicious." that same voice commented. Where exactly he was hidden was unknown to any but those of his side, but inside one of the last remaining Black Hole bases, certain CO watched the monitor. "And to think, they were once our slaves. How... interesting." he commented, and then a slightly evil laughter came from the rather thin man. He had been watching over Silver Mountain's progress ever since Sturm had ordered a 'strategic retreat' in the name of the second Black Hole war against the rest of Wars World.
Oh yes... Black Hole had been 'defeated' by Silver Mountain's 'powerful' troops. Or at least, that was what Adder had meant for them to think. All of the Black Hole CO's had been trained against Silver Mountain's pitiful militia by Sturm. Their powers had grown and expanded from that intensive training against the rebelious country of Silver Mountain. But once Flak, Lash, and Hawke had finished their training there, Sturm pulled them out. Adder alone had remained as he allowed the rebelling citizens of that forsaken and weak country to regain their land, one city at a time, until even he had been ordered to evacuate.
In their place, only the weaker CO's remained. CO's that had been taught by Sturm how to fight. Sub-commanders that could hardly keep their helmets on. One by one, they fell to the powerful strikes brought on by the growing Silver Mountain armies. A man named Lance had been reported to be at the head of the movement. Adder knew better than to face a CO like him, one-on-one, in such a state. The man had been young then, and angry. "Delicious..." he said to himself once more, enjoying his immunity to attacks of any sort. His surveillance of Silver Mountain kept him busy these days, as well as their double agents that he had deployed in the different factions of the world outside of his old stomping grounds of Silver Mountain.
Wiry and slick, that was this particular CO's trademark. He commanded no combat ready troops here in this base- no, he was but second in command here. There was only one man higher in rank than he was. The base was small, but fortified. It was here that their fleet resupplied itself, in the northwestern wastes of this forsaken world of war. And it was here that he kept watch over all- Black Hole troop movements. Green Earth maneuvers, Olaf's eating habits, Orange Star's fooling around, and Kanbei's lost sock pastimes. Few things escaped the snake-like man's notice. He was as well informed as Sonja, if not more so... or so he told himself.
"This should be very interesting to Hawke." he murmered. He spoke to himself quite often these days, to keep himself from becoming bored completely. But no, he thought to himself. It would be much more entertaining to see what they could do while staying safe. Perhaps... Yes! Adder got onto the phone with his subordinates, and placed a few rather useful orders- a cup of coffee, a pastry from the galley, and oh yes, for the crew of a missile unit, loyal to Black Hole but working for Orange Star that had been pulled up from the active reserve, to shoot down the transport copter before it could finally land on Orange Star's coast. "Let us begin the show!"
Back in Orange Star airspace ---
Five powerful, ground-to-air missiles impacted the strong transport copter. It gave a great struggle against its impending demise, armor buckling, rotors bending and crushing against the firepower that had been unleashed at it. Small explosions rocked the copter as its altitude began to drop quickly, the nose of the flying machine pointing towards the ground as gravity exerted its will over the now nearly broken machine. There was nothing left to do as one of the engines went up in a large ball of flame, the heat causing the fuel in the transport's tank to expand and then explode. The engine was left largely intact, save for several ruptures and dents, as it hit the ground, but now the copter was falling completely uncontrollably. "Hang on!" were Arik's last words, before the transport plunged into the ground.
There was no fireball or giant explosion. But then, there was no sound of anyone living to escape the wreckage that had once been a proud transport copter made back in Silver Mountain. All was silent, save for the sound of the rotors as they died down, slowly coming to a standstill.
In Orange Star, only Andy was still awake. Jess, Sami, and Sonja were asleep in their seperate tents, and the mechanical genius was working on a recon vehicle. None had seen or noticed in the slightest that the missile launching unit had even fired upon the ones that were coming towards them in the unarmed strike craft.
In his hidden bunker, Adder laughed to himself. Ah yes... wanton destruction of the peace that had been plaguing Wars World for months now. Hawke would be pleased, but more importantly, Adder would have something to watch now. Over 130 stolen channels on television, but not a thing to watch? Not anymore, he thought, as he sipped his green tea. He was a man of simple pleasures and needs, but watching over a refueling station was tedious work. This would improve his situation quite well.
Back in the fleet off the coast of Orange Star, Sheila saw the end of the transport copter that Arik had been on. Her body shook in rage for a moment, and then she was calm again. "Prepare the troops of both fleets for battle. We will defeat the ones who attacked us first. All troops are to search for Arik if given the opportunity to do so. A CO from Silver Mountain does not die that easily. But no matter what, we shall leave our mark on this land!" she called forth, and a resounding "Aye-aye!" could be heard as the crew took the orders to heart. Throughout the fleet, landing preparations were being made. Battle systems were being tested, and all men took to their positions. Tomorrow, at dawn, the attack would begin. And the fury of a country long denied revenge would take out its aggression upon an unwitting nation.
---
Author's Note: Well, not a bad way to continue. It's a bit slow, I admit, this time around. I wanted to get more characterizations down this time, so I put some thought into them.
Tron: Yeah, right. You just didn't want to do a battle yet!
MacrossGreen: Shut up, Tron! You know, you're not even being paid to be a muse. Why are you bugging me now?
Tron: Oh, just because I've got Andy all tied up at the moment. I think I'll let him be handled by the kobuns. Besides, I'm Mega Man's remember?
MacrossGreen: Sees Andy all tied together with duct tape and rope Damn. Just great. That means I've gotta come up with some other way to deal with ya.
Tron: You're still not working on Battle for Terra!
MacrossGreen: I didn't take the name 'Macross' for no reason, Tron! gets into his VF-1S and arms the main gun Don't make me do it...
Tron: sulks I'll be good...
MacrossGreen: Don't mess with a macross saga fanatic, Tron. Didn't you learn that by now? hehe... Please review!