I looked and saw this huge object, larger than the RDF's orbital traffic control station. "What is that thing?" I asked.
"That is the Robotech Satellite Factory," said Jenna. "Commander Breetai led the mission to capture the factory and bring it to Earth orbit. And we managed to pull it off all because of a little baby. We're only a few minutes from Breetai's flagship."
"Zentraedi flagship to unidentified vessel," said this male voice. "Please respond."
"This is UN Space Marine Veritech fighter Knight Two," said Jenna. "I am here delivering an important passenger for Supreme Commander Breetai."
There was a few seconds of silence.
"Acknowledged, Knight Two," said the voice. "You are cleared for landing in Landing Bay 1."
"Roger that. All systems okay. I am activating the ALS."
I looked at the massive spaceship ahead of us. The veritech fighter's automated landing system took action, adjusting the speed relative to the flagship. I saw ther open door of the landing bay. Soon, we were inside. I could see the green-colored Zentraedi shuttles, Zentraedi re-entry pods, and Zentraedi fighter planes. the veritech was switched to battloid mode.
"All thrusters disengaged," said Jenna.
We went inside an airlock and emerged into a corridor. A Zentraedi soldier waited for us.
"Lord Breetai is expecting you," he said. "Follow me please."
And so Jenna walked the battloid to folow the Zentraedi soldier, who stood as tall as the battloid. We passed several crew members along the way.
One thing I noticed was that there were walkways designed for people with human size. I remember reading that there were humans from the UN military who were assigned here.
After walking for a few minutes, our veritech battloid reached a door.
"This is Supreme Commander Breetai's office," said the soldier.
The battloid walked in. On the monitor screen I could see this tall man with azure skin. He wore a long coat. He had this plate on his face and he towered over our battloid.
"Your guests are here, sir," said the soldier.
"Welcome, my guests," he said in this voice that was like thunder. "I am Breetai, Supreme Commander over all Zentraedi. Soldier, you are dismissed. I want to speak with them alone and I do not wish to be disturbed unless it is an emergency."
"It shall be done, my lord," said the soldier before he left.
"I'd like to see the person who will be interviewing me," said Breetai.
"Okay," said Jenna. She changed the veritech into its guardian mode. The heat shield withdrew. Breetai looked even more imposing, since guardian mode sat shorter.
I waved at the supreme commander.
"So you are the one who will be asking me questions, little Micronian," said Breetai, looking closely at the cockpit.
"That's right," I said. "Where do I begin? I suppose I can start by asking you about your life. Where did you begin?"
"I came from a cloning chamber in the Zentraedi command headquarters. I was created with the knowledge to command an entire fleet. After I was tested on the basics of fleet command, I took command of my own fleet. I led my fleet to many victories against our enemies. I also suffered losses, and one time I was seriously wounded in a battle against the Invid. I was later ordered by Supreme Commander Dolza to capture the battle fortress that you call SDF-1. I chased after the fortress for a year. I was temporarily recalled to Zentraedi command headquarters. I then resumed my assignment of capturing the battle fortress. When it turned out that Dolza would exterminate me and my fleet, I sided with you."
"Why did you side with us?" I asked.
"You have to understand about the Zentraedi. We Zentraedi were created by these people whom we only know as the Robotech Masters. We were created to wage war. Male and female were kept separate. All Zentraedi were created from cloning chambers. The Robotech Masters prohibited us from making contact with anyone. Our only role was to fight the enemies of the Robotech Masters."
"Okay," I said.
"Many years ago, even before I heard of the battle fortress, a Zentraedi ship crashed on this planet. It was part of a fleet under the command of someone I knew as friend. The crew and the soldiers were stuck there, and they only had radio c ommunications. In the years they spent, they came to like the local culture. Some of them even micronized themsleves to live among those aliens. The aliens were a primitive people, much more primitive than you were when the SDF-1 first arrived on your planet. But they had music and love. Years after the crash, the fleet commander, Haziin, arrived at the planet to rescue his ship. The people of the planet were not enemies, so he did not attack. He and his staff came down to visit the ship. They too were exposed to culture. But when the ship was repaired, the ship's commander and crew refused to leave. They wanted to stay on the planet. He consulted with headquarters. He then had the ships' commander and staff executed."
"I could understand why."
"Dolza summoned me to headquarters. He told me that Haziin and his fleet had been contaimainted. to prevent contamination, his fleet and everyone on it had to be destroyed. I was ordered to lead the mission to destroy Haziin's fleet. I have fought many battles. This was my worst assignment. Haziin did not understand why he had to be killed at the hands of those he fought with. I gave the order. He and his fleet were completely destroyed. Years later, after that wedding, I knew that Dolza would order my extermination. At that point, I was no longer bound to serve him, so I decided to work with you Micronians."
"Interesting," I said. "Anyway, tell us more about the Robotech Masters."
"We know very little about them," said Breetai. "We know they look like you, and they are about the same size. They come from this place called Tirol."
"Have you been to Tirol?"
"I don't know. Tirol's location is secret from all except Dolza and his staff, and with their demise that knowledge is not available to any Zentraedi."
"What did you know of the SDF-1 before it crashed here?"
"The Robotech Masters use this ultra-high-density fuel called protoculture. This protoculture is used to power Zentraedi craft and mecha. The Zentraedi were completely dependent on the Robotech Masters for protoculture. Protoculture was the discovery of a scientist named Zor. But one day, Zor took all research data on board his own battle fortress and he took off with the last protoculture matrix. The loss of all protoculture matrices would destroy the Robotech Masters' empire. So they ordered Dolza to find the battle fortress."
"So all this happened because some guy decided to hoard the protoculture for himself."
"Yes. It is likely that the Robotech Masters will send their own forces to retrieve the protoculture matrix. They have a military force greater than the Zentraedi. We were just their cannon fodder."
"It makes sense," I said. "They would be stupid to create an army they can't control."
"I hope that negotation with the Robotech Masters would be possible," said Breetai. "I doubt we would be able to withstand their onslaught if they were to decide to attack Earth."
"Tell me about the state of affairs in the galaxy," I said.
"We estimate millions of civilizations in this galaxy alone," said Breetai. "We know little of them. The only ones besides you that we know of are those of our enemies. Almost all of them fell before us- with one exception."
"Who?" I asked, wanting to learn about an enemy that even held back the Zentraedi.
"The Invid," said Breetai. "We know little of them, excepti they are fierce, powerful enemies of the Robotech Masters. Over ten million people under my command fell to the Invid. This metal plate and artificial eye was due to an Invid attack. Until the battle over Earth, the Invid were responsible for the majority of Zentraedi losses. In fact, the Invid were still keeping us busy, which is why Dolza did not marshal all of his forces against you until two years ago."
"What do you plan to do now?"
"We must find Tirol. Only if the Robotech Masters knew that we could strike their home will they negotiate in good faith. We must also explore this galaxy. The Zentraedi were enforcers for the Masters, making them the masters of the galaxy. With the decimation of the Zentraedi, other nations may rise up against the Robotech Masters. The Zentraedi kept the peace; now hundreds of wars may erupt with the Robotech Masters' military might greatly reduced. Perhaps that might give them more reason to negotiate in good faith."
"What of the Zentraedi living on Earth?"
"I will not do anything to force them to serve under me; they can be replaced. They have chosen to live among the Micronians. Some of them are even serving in Micronian military units. It is the renegades that I must deal with, the onmes who wish to continue Dolza's war with the Micronians. Khyron is of great concern to me. So far, the renegade factions have been divided. If Khyron were to unite them, they could deal some heavy damage."
"Describe your experiences in your mission to capture SDF-1."
"That is one thing I will never forget. Everything was going according to plan until the ship folded into hyperspace near the surface of the Earth. And there was this Daedalus maneuver, where they shoved the Daedalus into one of my ships and blew it apart from the inside. They even blew up their own base to escape a gravity mine on Mars. Of course, my aide Exedore came up with brilliant strategies for us. It was his idea to use the Daedalus maneuver to sneak a Regult squadron on board ship."
"Do you want to live among us in human size?"
Breetai paced the room for a moment. "I am needed at my current post," he said. "Someday, when I have to pass the torch to my successor, I will live among you."
"I understand," I said.
I heard a ringing, and an image of a man appeared.
"Is this an emergency?" asked Breetai. "If it isn't then you will be scrubbing the corridorts for the next..."
"Sir, one of our ships is reporting a mutiny."
"A mutiny?" asked the supreme commander.
"Yes, my lord. The commanding officer was killed. Some of the ship's crew went into hiding and sent this distress signal."
"I want all ships to stand by. Scramble all fighters and pods. Have them hold the ship and prevent its escape!"
"Yes, sir."
"Micronians," Breetai said to us. "There is an emergency situation. Mutineers took over one of my ships."
"Should we help?' asked Jenna.
"Definitely," I said without hesistation, smiling.
"We will volunteer, sir," said Jenna.
"Excellent," said Breetai. "Go to the armory and pick up a weapon. I will inform your headquarters of the situations."
"Thank you for granting the interview," I said.
"You are welcome, Micronian," replied Breetai.
We left Breetai's office. One of his soldiers gave us a Zentraedi submachinegun. We were escorted through the flagship's corridors to the landing bay. We changed into guardian mode and took off from the flagship. We switched into fighter mode and flew towards the ship in question.
"This is Knight Two," said Jenna. "Give us the situation."
"They have control of the turrets," said a voice. "They're firing on our mecha!"
I could see that. There were tiny little explosions surrounding one of the Zentraedi warships.
"Hold on," said Jenna. "I'll provide support."
"Attention, Micronian fighter," said a voice. "Do not fire on Zentraedi mecha. Just take out the ship's turrets; they will cover for you."
"Copy that."
We approached within firing range. There were Gnerl fighters and Regult pods doing combat around the ship. We flew in close to the turrets, which were busy trying to fight Zentraedi mecha. Jenna then blasted the turrets with the veritech's lasers. She turned us around and went for another strafing round.
"That's three down," said Jenna.
We continued to make strafing runs acorss the hull of the Zentraedi ship, taking out the turrets.
Then a Regult battle pod stratyted into our flight path. Jenna turned the stick hard. I did not know what happened for the next few seconds, but we found ourselves in battloid mode, inside the Zentraedi warship.
A Zentraedi crewman emerged into the corridor. Was he friend or foe?
"Over here," he said to us.
We followed him to a small room. There were three other men inside.
"I am Major Jenna Murphy of the UN Space Marines," said Jenna. "I came here to assist you in repelling the mutiny."
A silver-haired man spoke. "I am Geno, executive officer on board the ship," he said. " A crew chief and his followers took the bridge and the turrets and the landing bay. They killed the crew commander. The mutineers swore their allegiance to that backstabber Khyron."
"What is the plan?" asked Jenna.
"I figured something out. Let's get you an outfit."
Two of Geno's men got a green cloak. They helped us put the clothes onto the battloid.
"There," said Geno. "As long as they don't have a good look at your face, you should be able to walk all the way to the bridge."
"That's a great plan," said Jenna.
"There's one small problem, sir," said one of the crewmen. "The pilot's voice sounds like a female. This ship is all male."
"I can do the talking," I said.
"Okay," said Geno. "Let's go. We'd better act fast before Breetai decides to destroy the ship."
And so we did. We walked along the corridor, with Geno and one of his men as prisoner. We passed severasl mutineers along the way; none of them. The plan was to take Geno to the brig. A battloid is more sturdy than flesh and blood Zentraedi. We navigated the corridors and stairwells for a few minutes. We finally reached the door to the brig. The brig was guarded by a soldier in body armor.
"Halt," he said. "What is your business?"
"I'm here to deliver these prisoners to the brig." I said.
"I don't recall any orders to bring prisoners here."
That was when Jenna struck the soldier down using the battloid's legs. She bent the battloid down and ripped off the soldier's helmet. She then used the servos to stomp the neck with great force.
The battloid then pressed a button to open the door to the brig. We went in and saw the Zentraedi prisoners.
Geno's aide unlocked the cells, freeing them.
"Let's take back the ship!" yelled Geno.
Geno led us and his crew through the corridors. We went to an armory where personla weapons were stored, and we fought against the mutineers. Geno's men picked up weapons and ammo and we continued on our way to the bridge. We took out the soldier guarding the entrance to the bridge. Then Jenna and I went in alone.
"What are you doing here?" asked their leader.
"I have come to report that Geno is plotting to take over the ship," I said.
"How so?"
"We're gonna help him."
Suddenly, three of the mutineers aimed their submachineguns at us.
"Surrender and I'll send you back to Breetai unharmed," said leader.
"I have a better suggestion. I want to call a cease fire between you and Geno. We can call Breetai and ask him to mediate this dispute over who has authority to command this vessel. There's no need for fighting. We call Breetai, and he will decide whether you or Geno will be in command."
They responded by firing at us. Jenna fired the Zentraedi submachinegun at the crew. Geno and his aide burst in, firing on the mutineers.
Geno went to a console and held a microphone. "This is Executive Officer Geno," he said. "I have taken control of the bridge. Any mutineer who surrenders will be spared their lives."
Suddenly I heard a shot. I looked at a console and it was smoking.
"It's too late," said the mutiny leader. "Look."
I looked at the ship's monitor screen. The Robotech Factory Satellite appeared to get bigger.
We were on a collision course.
"I can't regain helm control!" yelled Geno's aide. "We're gonna crash in fifteen seconds."
"Unless Breetai blasts us into bits," said Geno.
"I guess this is the end," said Jenna.
She was right. There did not seem to be a way out. I guess I knew that I had to fold them.
Fold!
"Intiate a hyperspace fold!" I yelled. "Now!"
The factory satellite was right in front of us, filling the view of the monitor screen. Suddenly, there was this strange multicolored light, like what I saw when Jenna first took me aboard SDF-1.
Then the satellite was gone. There was only empty space.
"It worked," said Geno.
"Where are we?" asked Jenna.
I wondered the same thing.
"I'll notify Breetai's flagship of our current position," said Geno's aide. "The fold took us pretty far from Earth."
"We still have some mutineers loose," said Geno. "Let's go."
And so we mopped up. The mutineers had no idea that they were fighting a veritech battloiud; they assumed we were a Zentraedi crewman with only a uniform for protection. They were surely surprised when their bullets did not penetrate. Soon we had killed or captured all mutineers.
We and Geno went back to the bridge. We made contact with Supreme Commander Breetai.
"My lord, the mutineers have been taken care of," said Geno. "Unfrotunately, the helm controls were damaged and we don't have manueuvering thrusters. I am requesting a repair team."
"I will send a scout ship over to your position," said Breetai. "You know what to do with the surviving mutineers."
"Yes, sir."
And so we threw the surviving mutineers out of an airlock and into the vacuum of space without any spacesuits. They quickly suffocated to death.
"There's something over there," said Jenna. "A large asteroid of some sort."
She flew the veritech fighter to the asteroid and then switched us to battloid mode. We stood on the ice and rock.
I knew this place.
"MacrossCity!" I yelled. "this is where it used to be. This is where we first met."
"You're right," said Jenna. "I'd recognize the island from anywhere."
"Scout Ship Thuverl to Micronian fighter," said a voice. "We are here to bring you home."
"Copy that," said Jenna. On our way.
We took one last look at the place where we first met. Then Jenna took off and flew to the Zentraedi scout ship. About an hour later, the ship folded to Earth. We left the ship and began our descent into Earth.
As we were entering Earth's atmosphere, Jenna raised the heat shield. The only view was that of the cockpit.
"I hope this didn't cause you inconvenience," said Jenna.
"Not really," I said. "It did break the mononotony of my job. And I got to go back to the island where Macross City used to be."
"As it did mine."
"We're gonna get to spend a lot of time together, you know. For the past two years I haven't spent that much time with you. I want to spend as much time with you as possible."
"I'll be looking forward to that."
"We've been through a lot, you know. We've had our joys and we shared in our sorrows. I love you more than anything. Jenna Annabelle Murphy, will you marry me?"
"Yes," she said. "Of course I will."
This was awesome! I was going to marry this wonderful lady! I was going to achieve one of my life's goals!
The heat shield was withdrawn, revealing the night sky. We flew towards Macross city for a few hours.
"Knight Two to JFAF Tower," said Jenna. "I am approaching for a landing."
"Copy that, Knight Two," said the air traffic controller. "There is heavy traffic, please stand by."
I looked down at the lights of Macross City. We stayed up here, just the two of us, for another thirty minutes.
"JFAF Tower to Knight Two," said the controller. "You are cleared to land on Runway 1."
Minutes later, the veritech fighter plane's landing gear tires touched the surface of the runway.
We were back on Earth. One step closer to the new life we would build together.