Robotech Rebirth: The Macross Saga
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and universes that I am about to mangle around for my own amusement – sadly Robotech and assorted characters remain the property of Harmony Gold – I am merely borrowing them and make absolutely no profit from their use. As a result, please keep the legal attack dogs – also known as lawyers – firmly muzzled and on a leash.
Authors Note: This is my attempt to reboot and reimagine the events of the Robotech series. While this particular story will be naturally focused on the first of the three sagas' I will be attempting to weave all three together far more coherently than they were in the original show.
Prologue
I have become Thanatos, God of Death, Zor thought as he stood alone on a platform a complex holographic display around him revealing the battle that was raging in orbit. The small group of Zentraedi warships – a mixture of cruisers, destroyers, and a single battlecruiser – that had been assigned to support and escort his ship was engaged in a ferocious battle with three large globular vessels that nearly continually spewed both streams of battle mecha and bolts of superheated, exotic plasma. Lance like beams of coherent destructive energy and missiles flew back at the three spherical ships – impacting against powerful gravitational-electromagnetic defence fields that glowed and sparkled under the streams of radiant coherent energy but so far were withstanding everything that the Zentraedi were throwing at them.
The same was not true of the Zentraedi warships. Despite there thick layers of dispersive armour all of them were beginning to sustain damage, the bolts of the Invid weapons punching deep into there hulls before detonating as anti-particles in the plasma reacted with the normal matter of there hulls. The swarms of fighters and battlepods that the Zentraedi had launched to confront the enemy mecha were doing much better as were the Zentraedi point defences – the Invid machines were as always far more lightly armoured, thus they withered and died easily under the photonic caress of lasers – but for every mecha they shot down the Invid launched more.
It was a sight he had seen thousands of times on a thousand battlefields across the length and breadth of the dwarf galaxy that was the only home his species had ever known.
The war between his people, there Zentraedi warrior servitors and the Invid had been raging for over two hundred years now. A war that had been set in motion, however unwittingly, by him when he had first set foot on Optera and met the then seemingly primitive Invid. There he had made his greatest discovery and made the first of his many great mistakes, taking some of the Flowers of Life from the planet had been the first. Creating the protoculture matrix from them, unleashing a power upon the galaxy that nobody had been ready for and nobody – not even he – could truly control. Of course, he hadn't realised that at the time, in his arrogance and overconfidence he had thought, had genuinely believed, that the sons and daughters of Tirol could control the power of the protoculture. Control it and use it wisely.
Such a fool he had been and this war had ultimately been the result.
"Lord Zor," a deep, rumbling voice said from somewhere behind him. Zor turned to see a new holographic display had pixeled into existence revealing the face of Breetai – the Zentraedi commander who had been entrusted with his safety.
"Yes Breetai," he asked.
"Forgive me for disturbing you my lord but I must inform you that Invid landing craft are heading towards the base," the blue-skinned Zentraedi replied. "I advise that you return to your ship and launch immediately."
So, the time has come to finally begin the end of this, Zor thought. "Not yet," he said knowing that he needed both the Invid and the Zentraedi as distracted as possible if he was to make his move. It would likely be his last, he knew that Nimuul and the other Robotech Masters would execute him the moment they learned of his actions, but it had to be done. The cycle of warfare and violence, that had decimated dozens of worlds and killed hundreds of millions and turned countless more sentients into homeless refugees, would not end, not while the protoculture matrix and the Flowers were within the grasp of those who should never have held them in the first place.
"Raise the base defences," he ordered, "and send all Zentraedi and bioroid units to man perimeter and internal defence stations, they're to buy as much time as possible for my ship to finish replenishment operations."
Breetai frowned the look on his face indicating that he wanted to question him on his orders, a look that only lasted a few moments before an impassive mask of obedience came over Breetai's features. The conditioning his people had used on the Zentraedi when they'd repurposed them from the race of bioengineered miners they had once been into the warriors they now were taking over. Conditioning that ensured that they would obey any and all orders given to them by a Tirolian.
"As you wish my lord," Breetai answered with a bow of his head before closing down the communications link between them from his end causing the holographic window that he'd been in to close. Turning around Zor observed the battle in orbit, even as a humming sound briefly filled the air of the base. A sound that he knew was the bases defensive shield being raised and defensive weapon emplacements being energized for use, for another few minutes.
The battle was still very much a stalemate between the Zentraedi and the Invid. Though it was obvious from the way that the one Invid hiveships shields were flickering that they were on the verge of collapsing. Something that the Zentraedi had also seemed to notice as they all suddenly shifted fire to that particular hive charged particle beams, beam lasers and antimatter missiles from every ship slamming simultaneously into the hiveship. The result was predictable as the hives shields flared once more before shattering in a blaze of gravimagnetic disruption allowing weapons fire to begin striking the biological structure of the Invid capital ship.
Zor watched as the hiveship began to break apart almost immediately, the immense power of the weapons that he had helped to fashion ripping through it tearing decks and compartments apart. After a few moments of fire, the hive could take no more as it turned into a miniature sun as its power core ruptured suddenly and catastrophically. The energy wave washing over the two remaining hiveships making their own shields flare and momentarily flicker. The Zentraedi didn't have long to celebrate there victory as within seconds of the hives destruction two of the warships also began breaking apart under heavy Invid fire, fires and explosions ripping the huge, green-hulled warships apart from the inside out. Seconds later they, like the hive before them, turned into momentary stars as there protoculture-fuelled quantum reactors detonated.
"Warning gravitational disturbances detected," the voice of the base AI reported.
"Location," Zor asked.
"Sectors three and seven."
"How many ships?"
"Analysis of phase displacements indicates the incoming fold in sector three consists of eight ships. Sector seven folds consist of fifty ships."
Figures that both the Invid and the Zentraedi would call for reinforcements, Zor thought with a mental sigh as he turned his full attention back to the holographic display. For a few moments nothing happened then he saw the first set of fold spheres burst into existence behind the two-remaining original hiveships. The folds evaporated to reveal the eight ships were unsurprisingly more hiveships. Hiveships that immediately began, again unsurprisingly, launching more of their battle mecha swarms.
As the first squadrons of battle mecha began leaving their bays on the hiveships the second group of fold spheres, these near the Zentraedi ships, erupted into normal space and evaporated, each leaving a dozen heavy Zentraedi warships – supercarriers, battleships and even the occasional command ship – in their wake. The newly arrived Zentraedi reinforcements immediately opened fire upon the Invid, there much heavier guns immediately putting the Invid shields under heavy strain. Plasma bolts flew back from the Invid ships in retaliation as battle was joined. Zor shook his head in a mixture of sadness and disgust as the fighting and dying in orbit grew even more fierce. It never ends does it, he thought, the fighting, the killing. Well, it ends now, today. No more will I allow my creation to fuel this devastating conflict.
With a sigh he turned away from looking at the space battle to the ground confrontation, to see that the Invid ground combat mecha had reached the outer defence line and had begun firing upon the defence shield. Laser beams, ion bolts, railgun slugs and beam cannon fire from the Zentraedi and bioroid units answered them and in no time at all they too became engrossed in a fierce confrontation.
It was now time.
Kneeling down for a moment Zor put his hand on a seemingly blank section of the floor and concentrated. Seconds later a nearby section of floor turned fluid and began flowing upwards in complete defiance of gravity, within seconds forming into a command console. Standing up Zor walked over to the console and entered his access code. Firewalls and security encryptions dissolved as his master codes overrode the system before activating a remote uplink to his ships computer.
He took a few moments to thoroughly check the ship, quickly determining that – as he had ordered – everyone had disembarked to assist in the defence of the base leaving the replenishment of the ships stores to the automated systems. With a quick command to the console, he discontinued the replenishment operations and activated a series of programs that he had spent several months writing and installing aboard the mighty vessel. Once he was certain that all was ready, he initiated the launch sequence for the ship overriding the warning that doing so would cause the base to automatically lower its defence shield to allow the ship to pass.
"It's done," he said softly as he gave another command to the console causing it to turn fluid once again and flow back into the floor.
"Warning, warning defence shield lowering. Warning, warning," the base AI warned over the PA system. "Warning, warning defence shield lowering. Warning, warning."
Zor paid the warning no mind, instead he turned his attention to a new section that had appeared on the holographic display. The new screen showed a view from the bases security cameras as the massive doors over the launch bay split apart and began to retract letting the light of this systems twin suns hit the surface of the vessel within.
"Lord Zor what are you doing?" Breetai's voice abruptly said from behind him. "Why have you lowered the shield? Why have you started the launch sequence on the battlefortress? There is nobody onboard."
"I have done what had to be done Breetai," Zor said turning to look at the holographic comm screen and the Zentraedi officer who was now backdropped by the heavy fighting with the Invid invaders. "I do not expect you to understand, we made sure that you would never be able to understand why I am doing what I am doing."
"What have you done?" Breetai demanded even as a loud explosion echoed through the base, followed by the sound of something collapsing.
"I am ending this war Breetai," Zor said as more explosions, and the sound of additional collapses, echoed through the base. The ground beneath him shook with the shockwaves as enemy weapons fire began systematically demolishing this relatively small, largely automated, outpost. "No longer will I allow my creation to fuel a war that has set this galaxy on fire."
Breetai paused, gazing at him in shock. "My lord you do realize that this is treason?" he asked after a moment.
"It may seem like treason now Breetai but in the long run it's the best thing for us all. After two centuries of bloodshed and chaos peace will return to this galaxy."
"My lord you do know that my duty demands I attempt to stop y… arrggh," Breetai's voice trailed off into a scream of absolute agony as an Invid plasma disc slammed into his skull, his helmet protecting him enough that his head wasn't reduced to a bloody pulp though it wouldn't save him from a serious injury. Zor watched sadly as Breetai dropped out of sight, faintly hearing the Zentraedi around him yelling for a medic. Knowing that Breetai would be tended to Zor turned his attention back to the other holograms.
To see that his battlefortress had now risen out of its bay and was beginning its ascent towards orbit. A number of Invid battle mecha were advancing towards the ship, no doubt in an attempt to shoot it down. Plasma burst from the Invid guns towards the battlefortress, only to explode against and sleet ineffectively off a glowing field of translucent blue hexagonal tiles that formed the ships shields. Immediately the battlefortress automated point defence systems answered the attack with a swift barrage of laser fire that tore the offending mecha from the sky in a blaze of coherent photonic devastation.
With the Invid mecha destroyed the battlefortress resumed heading towards space.
Zor allowed himself a small smile as the vessel continued its ascent. Soon it would be high enough to engage its main engines and get completely out of the planets gravity well, once that was done the program that he'd placed in the astronavigational system would see the ship fold space beginning a voyage that would hopefully see it lost forever in the vast expanse of the main galaxy that was their nearest galactic neighbour.
A sudden explosion nearby threw him to the floor as the holographic display flickered and died as the base suddenly lost all power. Emergency lights came on bathing him in a pale blue light as he lay winded on the floor. Another explosion, this one directly above him, rattled the room and Zor could see an avalanche of debris falling towards him.
Looks like you won't be able to kill me yourself after all Nimuul, he thought as he closed his violet eyes a moment before the debris began landing all around him. There was a momentary stab of searing pain as the debris began hitting him…
…then he knew no more.
Uncaring of its creators' demise on the planet, as the now burning base began to completely collapse in upon itself, the battlefortress continued its ascent into space. Ahead of it the space battle continued to rage between the Invid and the Zentraedi, though it would have been obvious to any observer that the tide of battle had turned against the Invid with three more hiveships having been destroyed and another hive drifting dead and burning. The superior guns of the Zentraedi warships and mecha inflicting rapid, brutal damage upon the Invid though the damage was hardly one way as over a dozen Zentraedi warships had been destroyed or reduced to shattered, wrecks drifting dead in space.
Uncaring of the battle the artificial intelligence in the battlefortress navigational computer, with the single mindedness that only a machine could fully encapsulate, continued guiding the ship to fold clearance. Periodically the battlefortress drew plasma fire from the Invid, which sleeted ineffectively off its powerful shields, that it completely ignored. Hails from the Zentraedi ships directed at the fleeing battlefortress also went unheeded, prompting a squadron of warships to break away from the battle and begin advancing towards the vessel – the Zentraedi commanding the reinforcement fleet concerned by the silence from the battlefortresses crew and the Robotech Master that should be aboard – intent on rendezvousing with her and if necessary, boarding her to assist in solving whatever problem was preventing the vessel establishing comms.
They would never reach the ship.
For it was at that moment that the battlefortress reached fold clearance. Immediately the massive gravitic drives that were the ships main sublight propulsion system shut down as the main computer began diverting as much power as it could to the space fold system in preparation for the far longer than normal sequence of jumps it would need to carry out its creators' final wishes. The fold drive, being far more advanced than those on the Zentraedi ships which took several minutes to power up for a jump, came online in mere moments and the ship began what Zor had hoped would be its final voyage.
Rippling arcs of energy formed around the ship as the space folding process began. The arcs transforming nearly instantly into a rippling gyroscope that flashed around the entire ship before transforming into a globe of energy several kilometres in diameter that completely encompassed the two-kilometre-long ship. A ship whose outline immediately blurred and turned translucent as the vessel began to be submerged into the infinite realms of subspace. The fold sphere contracted, collapsing down until it was barely the size of an egg taking the ship within with it – then as if rocket propelled it shot into the distance before completely vanishing into subspace.
The long voyage of Zor's battlefortress had begun.
Zentraedi Command Ship
Standing in the command blister of his flagship Dolza, First Admiral and High Overlord of the Zentraedi, watched in shock as Zor's battlefortress disappeared into a space fold. He had been beyond puzzled as to why the battlefortress had not responded to any of their attempts to hail it. It truly had made no sense as Zor had surely detected them and known that they were here to save him and his escort from the Invid forces that had ambushed them. Thus, there would be no reason to run away.
"Sensors determine the battlefortress fold vector immediately," he ordered.
"Yes, my lord," the officer in charge of the long-range sensor section replied immediately.
"Lord Dolza the remaining Invid forces are attempting to disengage and retreat," tactical reported.
"Let them go we've blooded there noses enough for today," Dolza ordered, "recall all but alert forces and send down ground troops to recover any survivors of the outpost."
"Yes, my lord."
"Lord Dolza we're receiving a message from the survivors on the ground," communications called out, "it's from Advisor Exedore. He reports that Commander Breetai has been badly injured and requires immediate medical treatment if he is to survive his injuries. However, just prior to sustaining his injuries Exedore reports that Breetai had a most troubling conversation with Lord Zor."
Dolza blinked in confusion. "And what was the nature of this conversation," he asked.
"Exedore believes that it is far too sensitive to discuss over a comm channel when there are still Invid forces in the system he insists that he must brief you in person," communications answered making mental alarm bells ring in Dolza's head. Exedore was one of the oldest and most experienced and knowledgeable of all Zentraedi advisors for him to want to exercise such caution meant that whatever it was that he had to report it was of potentially planet shattering importance.
"Very well have Exedore brought up on the first dropship and have him brought to my audience chamber as soon as he is aboard."
"Yes, my lord."
One Hour Later
"Are you certain of this, Exedore?"
Sitting in the throne-like chair that was the dominant feature of his audience chamber Dolza stared at the diminutive – by Zentraedi standards at least – slightly misshapen advisor before him a combination of shock and horrified disbelief. The information that the other Zentraedi had just imparted to him was as shocking as it was unbelievable. The great Zor, the man who had ultimately created the Zentraedi, had betrayed them and sent his personal ship and all its secrets away into deep space. While he had known that Zor had started to become somewhat disillusioned with the seemingly endless war with the Invid – he wasn't the only one, there were many among the Zentraedi who tired of battling the seemingly endless hoards of there enemy, created for war they maybe but even the greatest Zentraedi warriors could grow weary of battle especially when, as now, the Invid were in one of their more aggressive phases forcing them to fight again and again with no chance to rest and recuperate properly – he had never thought he would do something like this.
And he was willing to bet that Zor's fellow Robotech Masters hadn't either.
"I am certain Lord Dolza," Exedore replied, "what I have told you is exactly what Lord Zor told Commander Breetai just before he was hit by an Invid plasma bolt."
"You know what this means don't you."
"Yes, I do. We must inform the Robotech Masters immediately, they need to know so appropriate plans for how to deal with this can be drawn up."
Though he kept his face impassive inwardly Dolza grimaced. He would rather have attempted to deal with this himself than inform the Tirolians unfortunately Exedore had a point, especially if the secrets that were aboard Zor's now missing battlefortress were as great as he believed them to be. "Agreed," he said at last before touching a control on the arm of his chair, "communications send a priority signal to Tirol immediately. Inform the Robotech Masters that I need to speak with the Elders immediately, make sure they are aware that this cannot wait."
"Yes, my lord."
"Now we wait," Dolza said to Exedore prompting the other Zentraedi to nod in agreement.
Thankfully they didn't have to wait for very long as within a few minutes three projector fields activated causing three holographic screens to pixel into existence. Each screen showing an image of one of the three Robotech Elders – the original three masters who had between them founded the glorious empire that the Zentraedi proudly served – with the central screen showing the first among them Nimuul himself.
"What is it Dolza," Nimuul asked his tone indicating that what he had to say had better be important or there would be hell to pay for him disturbing them.
"Forgive me for disturbing you my lords but I have just been given information that you need to know about immediately."
"And what is this information?"
"Exedore please tell the Elders what you told me."
Exedore nodded and stepped forward into the range of the optical pickups before bowing respectfully to there kinds ultimate masters. "My lords it is a great honour to address you I only wish that it was under better circumstances," Exedore began, "unfortunately I have to be the bearer of terrible news. My lords it is my terrible duty to inform you that Lord Zor has betrayed us."
"What! Are you certain?"
"Yes, my lords."
On the holographic screens Nimuul and the other two elders exchanged looks, looks that immediately told both Zentraedi that the three were not overly surprised at the news. Though they were obviously quite concerned by it. Nimuul looked back at them. "Tell us everything."
Exedore nodded and, as he had with Dolza before them, explained about how Zor had abruptly launched his battlefortress into space – lowering the outposts defence shield to do so which is what had ultimately allowed the Invid to destroy the base – and the conversation that he had had with Breetai when questioned about his actions. A conversation that had ended abruptly when Breetai had taken a direct plasma blast from an Invid enforcer to the skull. He also revealed his own impressions and thoughts on the matter and how Zor had seemed deadly serious and utterly committed to whatever it was he was doing.
All in all, it took the better part of fifteen minutes to reveal it all. At the end of which the three elders were silent for a few moments, before muting the audio from there ends and quickly beginning what was clearly an urgent discussion amongst themselves. For several more minutes the channel remained muted as the three Robotech Elders discussed the matter among themselves, doing so with mannerisms that confirmed that they were both angry and horrified for some reason, before Nimuul finally restored the audio feed.
"Where is Zor now? And where is his battlefortress?" Nimuul asked.
"I'm afraid to report that Lord Zor is dead," Exedore replied, "he was in the command centre of the base when it was destroyed by the Invid. The whole building collapsed in upon itself before bursting into flames, there is no way he could have survived."
"I see," Nimuul answered. "And the battlefortress?"
"It folded out on a trajectory that our sensors indicate will take it at least into intergalactic space," Dolza replied, "and that is the best-case scenario. It is possible that the vessel will execute multiple folds and cross the great gulf to the large galaxy ours orbits."
"I see that is… most concerning news. Begin preparing as many fleets as you can spare Dolza to search for and find the vessel. It and its secrets must be recovered as a matter of urgency."
"I will begin at once my lords. Who do you wish to command the fleets?"
"Commander Breetai will command the fleets. He lost the battlefortress he can redeem himself by recovering it. Assuming of course he still lives."
"He does my lord," Dolza confirmed, "though the left side of his skull his badly damaged, though the brain is intact, he will require extensive cybernetics if he is to regain vision and hearing on that side. If he were not such a gifted tactician, I would advise that he be terminated. Though if it is your will, I will have the appropriate cybernetics fitted and assign Breetai to the mission as soon as he has recovered enough to resume his duties."
"See to it at once Dolza. And Dolza you will oversee the search operations personally from your command base."
Inwardly Dolza grimaced. He would have preferred to continue to battle the Invid than oversee a task that was certain to be quite tedious even if it were important. A task that could take years or even decades given the sheer vastness of the local part of the universe that they would have to search. But he knew better than to argue and who knew in the long term the Nimuul and the other Elders could be inadvertently do him a favour as by doing this they could ultimately provide him with the means to execute his long-cherished dream of dethroning them and their micronian kind and leading the Zentraedi to rule the empire. An empire that had been ultimately built on the back of their blood and toil. Thus, it should be them who ruled not a bunch of imperialistic, autocratic micronians.
"As you wish my lords."
"Keep us appraised of your progress," Nimuul said finally before closing down the communications link from there end. The holographic screens blinked out of existence and the two Zentraedi looked at one another before Dolza stood and the two of them walked out of the audience chamber. They had much work to do and it was time to begin.
Neither was aware that two separate, but very interested, parties had listened into there conversation with the Robotech Elders.
Royal Hive
Optera
Standing in the heart of a vast chamber in a vast complex on the surface of there home planet, a planet that was dying due to the theft of the Flowers of Life, two beings watched the holographic recording from one of there spy drones with great interest. Of the two one was male and had the appearance of a giant bipedal crab crossed with a king cobra, the other was female and stood tall and slender appearing human aside from her complete lack of hair. Both were surrounded by shimmering nimbuses of psionic energy that would tell anyone that they were far, far more than they appeared to be. These were the Regent and the Regis, the two supreme rulers and parents of the entirety of the Invid race.
"Interesting," the Regent commented as the holographic display disappeared. "It appears that after all this time Zor finally grew a conscience. A pity he did not just send the ship and with it the Flowers of Life back to us."
"Indeed, though that would have been too easy," the Regis replied, she found herself somewhat torn by what she had just heard. On one hand she hated Zor for what he had done to her and the Invid, what he had ultimately stolen from them. But on the other hand, there was a tiny part of her that still, despite everything, loved him. Loved him and was devastated by the news of his death.
"By sending his ship, which no doubt has our Flowers aboard Zor is setting us a challenge," she continued drawing her husband/counterparts' attention. "We must find the ship and with it the Flowers, by doing so we will prove ourselves worthy of there recovery and will cherish them even more."
"Finding the ship will be difficult," the Regent pointed out though he could see no flaw in the Regis argument. "By sending it into intergalactic space, and possibly beyond to the large galaxy nearby, Zor has ensured that it might even be impossible."
"We must try if we are worthy of survival."
"Agreed. But what of the war, do we continue to prosecute it?"
"We do for now as that will keep our enemies distracted and force them to divert fewer resources to the search."
"Agreed."
Haydon Five
The great artificial intelligence known as the Awareness listened with great interest to the relay from the sensor drone it had monitoring one of the seemingly never-ending battles between the Invid and the Tirolians. It's interest only grew as it learned of how Zor had sent his ship away on a vector that would take it out into intergalactic space – a ship that the sensor drone had confirmed had both the Flowers of Life and the protoculture matrix aboard. While there was a very good chance that the ship and its cargo would get lost forever in the endless void of intergalactic space the Awareness knew it could not let this potential opportunity pass.
The Flowers of Life and the protoculture matrix had long been a problem, a threat to its long-term goals and plans for the filthy organics that dominated this galaxy. A problem and threat that it now had the chance to find and eliminate allowing it to begin putting its plans back on track. Thus, it quickly contacted its minions and gave them appropriate orders, probes and sentries would be sent into both intergalactic space and to the large galaxy to search for the matrix…
…search for and eliminate it.
Authors Notes: Well, the prologue is done in the next chapter I will be moving to Earth to both show the impact and the state of the world when the ship arrives. Though I will say now that the Earth it will arrive on will not be an Earth in 1999 but an updated Earth set in the near future, I figure this will allow me considerably more freedom story wise and allow the use of some more modern technologies and ideas that were not even conceived of when Robotech first made its debut in the nineteen eighties.
Before anyone asks – or moans – about me abandoning my other works I will say categorically now that they have not, and will not be, been abandoned. I am actually currently in the middle of writing new chapters for both A Left Turn at Albuquerque and A Legacy of Chaos its just this plot bunny grabbed me and refused to let go until I got to work on this story project. Until next time stay safe everyone.
