Chapter Seven – Reactions
Along one of the autostradas that connected the Argentine Quadrant to the surrounding quadrants of South America, a relatively unremarkable sedan made its way along the highway that was marked as the A-12. This road connected Buenos Aires with the Paraguayan Quadrant capital of Ascuncion, which was the direction the sedan was headed.
Inside of the sedan, Lieutenant Gabriel Ortega kept tabs on the progress of his journey. Only about another forty kilometers until we hit the quadrant boundaries, he thought. Taking a quick glance at the rear view mirror, he noticed that his less than willing passenger, the micronized Zentraedi named Cryndor, was asleep in the back. At least you have that luxury right now, amigo, Ortega mused. Probably going to be the last bit of a chance of a rest you're going to have for a while. The radio that was on in the car was detailing all the latest information of the events that had occurred in Buenos Aires earlier that day. Still no word from Leonard yet, Ortega thought. He's either making sure he has everything in order or some other lunacy has occurred that hasn't been reported as of yet. And knowing the Colonel, I'm betting on the first rather than the second.
It was then that Ortega noticed his phone was vibrating. In glancing over, he saw there were two text messages that had come in. Probably should check that, he thought as he checked the GPS. Rest stop is just two klicks down the road. Perfect. Looking to the back seat, Ortega sighed. Gonna have to wake him up. He'll be pissed, but oh well. Gonna need him to be alert when we hit the border.
The car pulled into the rest area. In of itself, it was nothing more than a scenic overlook, giving travelers a chance to stretch and take some pictures of the vibrant jungle that surrounded the highway. As the car stopped in one of the parking spaces, Ortega stopped the car and grabbed his phone. Clicking on the messages, the look on his face turned grave. So, he's actually going ahead with it, he thought as he read on. As he got to the second message, the color began to drain out of his face as he registered what was being reported. Damn, he added silently. The situation is a lot worse than I thought. Probably going to need to get things sped up even more now in light of this tidbit of information. Exiting the messages, he punched in a number he knew by heart and waited.
"Hola, hermano. Yes, I'm aware of what's going on. All I can say is, the situation is changing by the second. We should be there in a few hours, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Yes, I have him with me. Everything is arranged? Perfect. Send my regards to Rosa. Adios."
Ortega closed the phone and then turned towards the back. Deciding that nap time was now over, he gave his sleeping passenger a quick shake.
"Hey! Need ya awake here, pal."
A groggy Cryndor glared back at his traveling companion. "I'm not, how you say, your pal, Lieutenant," he shot back. "Where the blazes are we anyways?"
"About thirty five klicks from the Paraguayan border. Things are still changing by the second. Just got some information that is, shall we say, not very encouraging at the moment. We're going to need to step on it."
"So, if we're in a hurry, why did we stop?"
"Didn't want to draw any attention to us," Ortega responded. "The policia are already a bit jumpy as it is, so staying under the radar is best."
Cryndor was about to respond when something on the radio got his attention.
"Citizens of the Argentine Quadrant! There will be a special address by Colonel Anatole Leonard regarding today's terrorist attack on the Casa del Sol Nasciente and the ongoing efforts of our brave forces to find those responsible. This address is to start in about five minutes."
"Guessing we will be staying put while the Colonel spreads more lies?" Cryndor said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
Ortega nodded. "You could say that."
At Macross Command, the same announcement came over through the MBS coverage that dominated the main viewscreen of the Situation Room. On another viewscreen, the head of the ground forces at the base, Colonel Rolf Emerson, had a sour look on his face. The look was more than matched by the assembled officers by Admiral Gloval at the head of the room.
Breaking the slience, Captain Rick Hunter was the first of the assembled to speak. "Well, guess Anatole's not going to give us a sneak preview of what he's going to say."
Standing next to Hunter, Commodore Lisa Hayes shook her head at this latest bit of information. "This makes no sense. None at all," she stated softly.
"Something about this just doesn't add up at all, Rick," Commander Max Sterling stated towards Rick.
"Preaching to the choir, Max," Rick deadpanned.
Lieutenant Commander Miriya Sterling, who was standing next to her husband, chimed in next. "Captain, it seems the Colonel has, how you say, something to hide here. As Maximillian said, none of this is standard protocol at all. The last time I can remember dealing with someone that was, as you would say, 'shady', it was Khyron himself."
"I have no idea what's gotten into him since he went down there," an exasperated Colonel Emerson stated with disgust. "I hope to hell he knows what he's doing."
"Guess we're gonna have to wait and find out," Rick stated as he looked back at the main viewscreen.
The Admiral could only nod in agreement with the statements. Another unwelcome development, he thought to himself. In a day that has been full of them so far, I can only imagine what lunacy is to come next from Anatole.
On the other side of New Macross, over in The Frag, the events unfolding on MBS were also being watched intently by three relative newcomers to the neighborhood. As they took in the sights of the attack and processed the incoming information, a shared sense of foreboding crossed the minds of the three beings watching the TV in front of them.
After a few moments of silence, one decided to speak up.
"What sort of insanity has Nadtal caused down there?" Xamdar stated with a definite edge to his tone. "From what that fool told us, it was only a minor operation. If this is his idea of a 'minor' operation, I'd be loathe to see what a major one would look like."
Pyoto looked back over at his colleague with a strained look. "I already checked with Izadu down in Buenos Aires. He managed to make contact with both Nadtal and Alondo. It appears that neither of those fools down there had any idea that the 'message' was going to be this large. Also, no one has seen or heard from Cryndor since those two made contact with him shortly before the explosion."
"They probably modified the plan and didn't say a word so Izadu wouldn't terminate them," Xamdar said with a sniff. "The Micronians are bound to overreact about this." A dark smile crossed Xamdar's face as he processed what he had just stated. "It would mean we can resume operations here finally."
"Enough of that, Xamdar" Pyoto said crossly. "We're not doing a thing yet. Not until we get the go ahead from either Azonia or Grel. Orders are orders, and our orders are to stay under the scopes of the Micronians. And unlike some," making a slight nodding gesture towards the ongoing chaos on the TV screen. "We actually follow them. Are we clear on that?"
"Crystal," Xamdar said with a hint of menace.
Turning towards the third member of the group, Pyoto continued. "Your thoughts on what we should do next?"
Quazmin shared the same look as the other two Zentraedi sitting in the room. "Right now, I'd advise we listen to what this Colonel Leonard has to say in the coming moments. If your intel on him is correct, he may tip his hand greatly and reveal what he has in store. If he reacts as you say he will, we may have to move faster back here to preserve our kind down there."
"You mean..." Pyoto responded with a bit of disbelief. The Micronians wouldn't dare go that route? Would they?
"We may well have to consider that, Pyoto," Quazmin said evenly. "I would advise we definitely make contact with our friends at the asteroid afterwords. I doubt they know what is going on here as of yet. See what they advise and then we move." Turning towards Pyoto, he smiled. "I would suggest making sure the long range transmitter is ready to go. I have a feeling we will be having a frank discussion with our friends soon enough."
Pyoto nodded and made his way out of the room, leaving Quazmin and Xamdar alone.
"Khyron wouldn't even hesitate making an example of these Micronians," Xamdar sneered.
"You're right. He wouldn't," Quazmin stated. A dark look came over his face as he continued. "However, I am not him. He was always too quick to jump into things from what I saw in the archives. And when he did that, things went against us badly. However, in the last few gambits he ran here last year, it nearly worked to perfection as he was more patient. Something you were not, if the archives were correct," he added with a dark smile. Cross me, and you'll be right back in the tubes, he thought. That is, if Khyron even allows it. Copies have a nasty habit of getting lost in transmission.
Xamdar bristled at the reminder of his failure. I do not care whose genetic material you were spawned from, he thought darkly as he looked over at Quazmin. I will burn you from the skies if you get in my way.
Before he could make a rather nasty comment towards his colleague, something caught Xamdar's attention on the TV. "It appears we will get our answer soon. This Leonard fool is about to speak shortly."
Quazmin nodded. If what the archives say of you is true, Colonel, then this will be a fight to the death. One we don't intend on losing.
As the clock advanced to the top of the hour, Colonel Anatole Leonard stood off to the side of a hastily constructed studio collecting his thoughts before what was to be a momentous occasion. The Xeroxes have given me a golden opportunity to proceed with Southern Cross, he thought to himself as he lit up a cigarette. It wasn't hard to get the information about the potential hit on Ortega. That one Xerox gave up the information rather easily, even before Raven's enhanced persuasion techniques were used. A cruel smile came across his face as he took a drag and expelled the smoke upwards. Too bad about Ortega in all of this. Good man, but just a means to an end. Sadly, some good men have to make that sacrifice for the greater good. I'll be sure his family will get a nice stipend for his gracious service to the cause. Looking over his notes, he nodded to himself. Russo made sure things are good on the Monument side, from what he told me two nights ago. Didn't think the Council would have given the OK for my idea, but nothing a little persuasion and monetary expense couldn't handle. However, Macross will be a problem once they catch wind of what I have in store.
The smile faded to a dark frown.
Henry, you should have played ball on this one, he thought. I gave you every chance in the world to be a part of this. Too bad those two over-idealistic children have your ear and you refuse to listen to reason. You all will be swept aside and consigned to the dustbin of history if this goes through. Sorry, old friend, but if you're not with me, you're against me. And if you're against me, you're an obstacle that will be run over. Taking another drag off of the cigarette, the frown began to lessen and turn into a sneer. Oh, knocking Hunter and Hayes down a few pegs is an added bonus. I doubt the Captain and Commodore are going to go along with this. However, I have ideas on how to remove both of them from the picture fully.
An aide came over to the Colonel and saluted. "Sir, we go live in sixty seconds."
Taking one last drag off the cigarette, Leonard smiled. "Thank you, Corporal. That will be all."
"Good luck, sir," the corporal stated as he walked back.
Leonard saluted and nodded. In this business, kid, he thought. We make our own luck.
The viewscreens in the Situation Room at Macross Command flashed over from various reports to the sight of a sole podium with a nest of microphones attached. Towards the podium came a larger man in a military uniform sporting a very short haircut. Turning towards the camera, the man had a look of seriousness about him.
Rick Hunter noted this and looked towards his friends at their position in the room. Guess it's showtime, he thought darkly as he prepared to take in the speech.
Leonard assumed his position behind the podium and cleared his throat before starting.
"Good evening. Normally, a speech in this quadrant would be in either Spanish or Portuguese, but for the sake of brevity and clarity, this will be in English tonight. I have made arrangements to have the speech simulcast in these languages as I speak to the proper outlets."
He took a sip of water before continuing.
"Today, we have seen what is by far one of the worst acts of terrorism since the attempted attack on New Macross less than a year ago. It was a throwback to the days of the Anti Unification League's desperate attempts to keep the United Earth Government from forming. It was a time where we saw regular occurrences of bombings and killing of government officials because of a general disagreement over how the people wished to be governed. We all had thought those dark days had passed us by."
Back in Macross, Admiral Gloval shook his head at the statement. Ironic you bring up the AUL, Anatole. You were part of that rabble for quite some time.
Rick, Lisa, Max, and Miriya all caught this gesture by the Admiral and all felt a sense of foreboding at the other aspects of the speech.
"Sadly," Colonel Leonard continued. "It appears they have come back with a vengeance. However, the threat is not from a misguided group, but instead by something much more sinister. No, the threat is among our newest neighbors. Some may have assimilated, but it appears most are wanting to continue on with the senseless war that they started years ago."
In The Frag, Xamdar, Pyoto, and Quazmin all looked at each other in shock.
"Did he just blame us for starting this war?" Xamdar stammered.
"They shot at us first!" Pyoto spat out.
Quazmin did not say a word, but stared intently at the screen.
"If it is a continuation of the past war they want," Leonard stated. "Then, I am more than happy to oblige them on behalf of the UEG, RDF, and the people of the Southern Quadrants, who it is my duty to protect. Let it be known, that this act of treachery and terrorism will not be tolerated."
"Oh, this is not good," Cryndor muttered to himself while in the car.
Ortega listened intently, not commenting outwardly. The crazy son of a bitch is about to do this, he thought. No time like right now to get across, he thought. Without any hesitation, he restarted the car and began to pull out of the rest area. Before putting the car in drive, he turned around to his passenger.
"You're gonna want to hit the floor and put the blanket over you," Ortega stated clearly. "I doubt the federales at the border patrol is going to let you cross when we get there if what I think is about to happen. Don't make a damn sound until I give you the all clear."
Without as much as a protest, Cryndor nodded and followed the instructions, wondering silently if his new companion was truly going to be the death of him.
"As is stands now, the Casa del Sol Naciente is a complete loss. The death toll from this attack has yet to be fully accounted for, but I also have the sad duty to report that a good number of the governors of the Southern Quadrants were lost in this attack as they were in a meeting at the time of the blast. Right now, our early leads tell us that a group of Malcontent Zentraedi knew that this high level meeting was happening and targeted the governors. Our intelligence wing, which sadly also paid the ultimate price, was able to determine that the attack was originated by a cell in the San Rafael barrio in Buenos Aires itself."
In the San Rafael barrio, Izadu turned towards the two stunned visitors in his home with fury.
"You idiots! You have signed our death warrants! We're not even close to ready to go ahead with any major actions, and now you've called down the RDF upon our heads!"
He stood up and pulled out a pistol, pointing it at the two now terrified Zentraedi in front of him.
"I should kill both of you dekaalchuunzinos for this. However, I will let the commander decide your fates." With that, he holstered the pistol and pulled out a communicator.
"In these drastic times, drastic actions need to be taken. I have, with the authority from the UEG Supreme Council, already met with my fellow counterparts among the RDF command structure in the Southern Quadrants this afternoon. In light of the current situation, it is with the council's approval that I have declared a state of siege in all the following quadrants; Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas, and Southern Panama. The RDF commanders in these quadrants will be assuming direct control of the government in this state of siege and will be fulfilling the role of Quadrant Governor on a temporary basis. Martial law will be in effect until the emergency has passed, per the Emergency Powers Act passed by the Council this morning."
Leonard took another sip of water before continuing on.
"Also, a dusk to dawn curfew will be in effect for certain areas in the major cities. The checkpoints to these areas will be more strictly enforced by RDF and the local police authorities. I have also seen to the creation of a new wing of our law enforcement with the creation of the Brigada de Hierro. This is a strictly volunteer organization made up of like-minded citizens of the Quadrant that wish to help in our time of need."
As the sedan approached the checkpoint at the quadrant border, Ortega turned a shade paler than before with the pronouncements coming over the car radio.
My God, he thought. He actually is going ahead with Southern Cross. This situation is spiraling out of control here. Looking towards the back, Ortega frowned. Gonna definitely take some doing to get you out of here, pal. To say you...scratch that, both of us are wanted men is an understatement.
Looking over his papers, Ortega took a deep breath. Hopefully these peons buy this, he thought as the car rolled up to the checkpoint.
A disinterested guard walked over to the window.
"Papeles, por favor."
Ortega handed them over wordlessly.
"Where you headed, amigo?"
"Asuncion. On business."
The guard shuffled through the identification papers and smiled.
"Everything looks in order. Bienvenido al cuadrante paraguayo, amigo!"
"Gracias."
The guard waved Ortega's car through and within seconds the sedan was across the border heading off towards the quadrant capital. As the car pulled off, the guard noticed something about the car and went into the booth. Inside was a monitor and a recording device. He spun back through and caught the license plate on the car. Cross checking it with an urgent bulletin that had been sent out earlier in the morning, he saw a match.
Not even hesitating, he picked up a phone.
"Hello, Command? Yes, the car in the notification from this morning? It just passed through the crossing to the Paraguayan Quadrant on the A-12. Heading towards Asuncion. Roger that. Adios."
The guard put the phone's receiver back in the receiver and continued on with his duties.
On the other side of the line, Raven smiled. Oh, Ortega. Why didn't you stay dead like you were told? No matter, I think we can handle this one without ruffling the Colonel's feathers, he thought as he dialed another number. A few seconds later, the connection was made.
"Yes, they're on their way. Black sedan with Argentine Quadrant government plates. Number is Alpha-Zed-Bravo-Six-Four-Two-Eight. Just one in the car that we know of. There may be another in the car, but the informant wasn't quite sure. However, I would assume where one is, the other isn't too far behind. Both are considered to be highly dangerous. Take all measures to remove them. The Colonel wishes it to be so. Thank you."
Raven hung up the phone and waited for the report back. Meanwhile, his attention was brought back to the TV in front of him. So, we're legal now, he thought. I cannot thank you enough, Anatole. An evil smile came over his face. It'll be like old times.
Back in The Frag, the quiet atmosphere was broken by the buzzing of Quazmin's communicator. Cursing the timing, he glanced at who was disturbing him during this important information blast. Noticing the characters spelled out the name of his contact in the Southern Quadrants, he quickly flipped the device open and tapped a button.
"Go ahead, Izadu."
"Sir, you have heard this lunacy on the info blast?"
"Yes, I'm watching right now," Quazmin responded with a bit of an edge. "If you're bothering me during this, it had better be important."
"I have Nadtal and Alondo here right now," came the tinny response. "Do you wish for me to terminate them?"
"No," Quazmin responded. "Actually, put Nadtal on."
A brief silence came over the device followed by a quick "Sir, I can completely expl.."
"Silence, you fool," Quazmin shot back with enough ferocity to get the attention of both Pyoto and Xamdar. "Right now, your life and that of your colleague hang in the balance in what you tell me. If I don't like the answer, I'll be more than happy to order Izadu to give both of you a one way trip back to the tubes. And that is if I even allow for you to be respawned. Now. Talk!"
"Yes, we were going ahead with an operation towards an easy target of interest. Our intel assets saw that this Colonel Leonard's chief intelligence officer, a Lieutenant Ortega, was a perfect candidate for a 'message sending', as Alondo dubbed it. However, the plan was just to blow up his car while he was on his way to the command center."
"Go on," Quazmin stated with an edge.
"We had two other resources for this operation. One was Ortega's driver, a warrior by the name of Cryndor. The other was another of our collection here in Buenos Aires. A warrior by the name of Vondin. He was on the same ship as Alondo during the war and all, so he was sure he was committed to the cause. However, we have not heard from Vondin in some time. Cryndor, however, we did see and we did meet with to set everything in place. He even followed through and called us when it was set. However, he's also disappeared and I fear he made a sacrifice in this effort."
"Hold on, did you say you had an another asset in place that hasn't been heard from in some time?" Quazmin could feel his temper rising. "You fool! It would be an obvious stretch that maybe, just maybe, this Vondin was perhaps captured by the Micronians."
Izadu had grabbed back the communicator from Nadtal at this point. "Sir, this was a point of information that I was not aware of," he responded with a hint of malice. "I believe that the Micronians got to Vondin and he was persuaded to give up certain points of information."
"Can you confirm that the warrior in question was captured, Izadu?"
"Unfortunately I cannot, sir. It appears that Vondin was found dead about one standard day ago. He appeared to be roughed up a bit and was dispatched with a single blaster shot to the back of the head. If he was, the Micronians that captured him made sure he would not tell us anything."
Quazmin paused for a second. This botched operation may lead to our doom. I will have to definitely contact the Asteroid now. Taking a deep breath, Quazmin considered his next step.
"Izadu, prepare the warriors for an attack. I feel the Micronians are going to react strongly in the coming days."
"As you command. And, what about our two friends here?"
"Do with them as you wish."
"Understood."
With that, the conversation ended. In San Miguel, Izadu closed the communicator and turned towards his fellow Zentraedi. In a quick motion, he pulled out his pistol, pointed it at Alondo and fired. The shot caught the unfortunate warrior between the eyes. He sagged and dropped to floor like a sack of wet cement. Holstering the weapon, he looked at a now shaken Nadtal.
"That is the price of failure," Izadu stated plainly. "The next time, it will be you. Go and rally the men. I feel the Colonel is going to be paying us a visit shortly."
Nadtal nodded and made his way out of the dwelling with haste without saying as much as a word.
Back at the house in The Frag, Quazmin turned to the others.
"Pyoto, make contact with Azonia and Grel. We have a lot to discuss." Pyoto nodded and started to make his way towards another room. Turning to Xamdar, Quazmin smiled. "Well, my friend," he stated with a hint of sarcasm at the final word, "You may be about to get your wish. Get the men together. We may have some work ahead of us sooner rather than later."
Xamdar nodded and smiled. "As you command."
Leonard paused for a second, softening his look towards the camera.
"For the majority of the population of the Quadrants, there will be little to no change in your day to day activities. The only thing that may be a little different are an increase in RDF and BdH personnel being about. We are looking to your well-being and protection in these trying and dangerous times."
He then shifted gears, bringing back the hard look that he was noted for.
"As for the matter of the terrorists that caused this situation, all our forces in the Quadrants will be fully engaged to find them and any of their associates and bring them to justice. Any and all resistance to our apprehension of these scum will be met by swift, precise, and unyielding force. I would suggest to our friends that thinking I am full of bluster is not an advisable idea, as it will not end well. We will find you and we will crush you. And I do keep my promises."
He paused for a second, catching his breath.
"To the people of the affected Quadrants, I stress again that this is only a temporary measure and is not permanent. However, with the grace of God, we will get through this and strive to more peaceful days ahead. Thank you and God bless us all."
At Macross Command, a stunned silence came over the Situation Room.
Lisa was the first among the group to find their voice.
"Admiral, is this even legal?"
"Evidently, Lisa, the Council gave Anatole the impression that this is," he stated back with an undercurrent of anger. "Thundering asteroids! This act is utter madness!" The Admiral rose up from his chair and turned to an aide. "Ensign, get a connection in place to Monument in my office on the double!"
As the aide ran off towards the exit, Gloval turned to the others.
"I will be in contact with the Council to see if Anatole is telling the truth. The rest of you, get a game plan in place in case Leonard decides to ask for our assistance with his little power grab," Gloval responded with a bitter tone. "For now, we stand firm here unless Monument tells us otherwise."
With that, the Admiral left for his office as the others saluted. Once Gloval had left, Lisa turned to one of the monitors.
"Rolf, we'll be back in touch once we move to one of the conference rooms." Motioning towards the three most senior officers in the Sit Room, Lisa saluted as the Trio made their way over. Not wasting time, Lisa cut right to the chase.
"Kim," Lisa stated quickly. "Get in touch with Breetai and Exedore ASAP. I have a feeling this little speech may not have gone over too well up there. Once you have contact, patch it through immediately."
"On it, ma'am!" came the sharp response as she made her way over to the Communications array.
Turning to the second woman, Lisa kept the same tone. "Vanessa, get a few drones up above The Frag. Better we have some eyes in the sky to keep a tab on things close to home. Doubt they're happy campers at the moment and Macross Metro is gonna need all the help they can get. We get anything, let them know ASAP."
Vanessa saluted and moved quickly towards Signals to arrange getting the drones airborne. Lisa then turned towards the third member of the group.
"Sammie, you have the biggest role of all," Lisa said with a smile. "The conn is yours."
A shocked look came over her face. "Ye..ye..ye..yes, ma'am!" was the response with a shaky salute.
Lisa then turned to the other officers. "Rick, get Ben, Nibs, and Wilcox up here on the double as well. We'll need their input as to what our next steps are going to be."
Rick smiled as he had his cellphone aloft. "One step ahead, Lisa. Already got a hold of them. They're on their way over as well."
And that is why I love you, she thought as she smiled at Rick. You were thinking the same thing I was.
With that, the group made their way out of the Situation Room towards a more private area to continue the conversations the speech had brought forth.
Along the nearly deserted highway, a single black sedan made its way through the forested areas towards the capital of the Paraguayan Quadrant. Inside of the sedan, Lieutenant Ortega noticed they were passing a distance marker that noted it was only another two hundred kilometers to their destination. Looking into the rear-view mirror, he remembered he had not said anything to his still hiding passenger. For all I know, he went back to sleep, he thought. Wish I had that luxury. However, having him drive right now would be a grave mistake in this situation. Probably should let the poor bastard sleep a little while longer, but I'd rather be safer than sorry.
Clearing his throat, he reached towards the back seat and shook the blanket that lay across the floor.
"Coast is clear, friend. You can sit back up now."
The blanket moved and Cryndor re-emerged into the back seat of the car with a look of distaste at his chauffeur.
"I thought they had sealed the borders," he quipped. "Guess being RDF has its advantages."
"They weren't formally sealed as of yet when we crossed," Ortega responded. "We just managed to time it right."
"Lucky us," came the deadpan response.
"Ya know, for a Zentraedi, you have a pretty good sense of humor," Ortega shot back with a smile.
"I fail to find the humor in our current plight, Lieutenant," Cryndor responded. "So, what is your grand plan, Lieutenant?"
"If things go as they should, we should be in Asuncion in about two hours or so. From there, I have a contact that can get us out of here and someplace a lot safer."
"Such as?"
"Haven't decided yet. Hard to determine what's actually 'safe' in these parts at the moment. From what the radio is stating, the policia, RDF, and these new auxiliaries are all over the place in the major cities."
"So," Cryndor surmised. "If your forces are operating in the major cities and looking for Zentraedi, would it make sense to, oh I don't know, not drive into a quadrant capital with me in tow?"
Ortega remained quiet for a minute while he processed the last comment. Old boy's got a point there, he thought. With that, he checked the GPS on the console of the car. Another wrinkle in this whole thing.
"I see your point. Let me check over something here." A smile came across Ortega's face as he noticed something. Forgot that was here. That will do nicely. Taking a quick glance at the gas gauge, he nodded. Got just enough to get there, barring any incidents or traffic. "Change in plans, amigo. We have a new destination that's about maybe an hour away. I'll have to make a few calls when we get there, but we can lay low and figure out the next steps."
"Wonderful," Cryndor responded with a bit of sarcasm. "I'm guessing your 'grand plan' wasn't much of one when we started on this."
"No better than the one your buddies came up with."
Cryndor was about to raise an objection, but thought better of it. As annoying as this Micronian is, he is right. Our plan fell apart like what they call 'a house of cards'.
As the two unlikely allies were discussing the merits of the plan, or if there was one even in place, they failed to notice a hidden patrol car off to the side of the road as they drove past. Inside the patrol car were two tough looking individuals in black uniforms. The passenger looked as the car went past and noticed the plate. Tapping his counterpart on the shoulder, he smiled.
"It's them. And the Xerox is with him."
The driver nodded. "Time to catch our quarry. Flip the lights on when we get close."
The other man nodded as the car accelerated out of its hiding spot.
Inside of a smaller room in the dwelling they called home, Quazmin, Pyoto, and Xamdar huddled in front of a smaller viewscreen as they attempted to make contact with their mission's overall commanders. Quazmin nodded over to Pyoto, who in turn tapped in a code and pressed a button. The screen began to shift and come alive. Eventually, the visage of a man in a Zentraedi uniform came over the screen.
"Ah, Grel is it? Is Lady Azonia about?"
"You weren't supposed to contact us for at least another standard month," came the terse reply. "I can only guess something has come about that demands our immediate attention."
"The information blasts here from the Micronians have been rather interesting over the past few hours. And it is something that demands her attention as well as yours."
Grel sighed. "I figured as much. Please stand by while I patch Lady Azonia in."
The screen split in two as a woman in uniform came up on the second half of the screen.
"So," Azonia stated. "This is the infamous Quazmin. Khyron was right, you do look a lot like him. You must be very popular in Macross among the Micronians," she added with a bit of sarcasm.
"Enough of the pleasantries, Azonia," Quazmin quipped back. "I wouldn't be reaching out to you unless it was important."
"Go ahead, Quazmin. What, pray tell, is going on down on that pathetic dustball of a planet?"
"Well, it seems some of our warriors got a tad rash with one of their 'message sending' attempts to the Micronians."
"Define rash?"
"They attempted to blow up a minor officer in the command structure of the Southern Quadrants." A map came up of the continent of South America, with a dot in the location of Buenos Aires. "However, they miscalculated and ended up killing a number of the leaders of these quadrants."
Azonia smiled. "That's not that much of a bad thing," she stated. "So a few of these specks got burned from the skies. It's not like we've done that before or anything."
Quazmin's expression caused the smile to disappear. "It's caused a reaction. The Micronians down in those quadrants are now appearing to be actively hunting our warriors down there and possibly proceeding with a liquidation measure. We cannot confirm that as of yet, but all signs from his speech earlier point towards it." A recording of Leonard's speech appeared on the screen, complete with subtitles in Tirolian. "You're probably familiar with the leader of the forces there."
It was then Azonia noticed who the Micronian at the podium was. Whatever traces of the smile she had on her face had completely drifted away and was replaced by a scowl.
"He wouldn't dare!"
Quazmin nodded. "He hasn't, as of yet. The warriors we're in contact with are bracing for an action though by the Micronians."
"And the situation where you are?"
"Quiet for now. However, I doubt that will last long. Pyoto may have a bit more on that."
Pyoto nodded. "I just had ventured out before this communication, M'lady. Some of the warriors are a bit apprehensive at the moment, but there's been no move by the Micronians here. Just some extra drones about keeping an eye on things if anything."
"Understood. For now, be vigilant. But if an opportunity presents itself, do not be afraid to take advantage."
Xamdar smiled. "I may have some leads from some old contacts I had among the Micronians. It may take some cultivating, but we could be in a position where we can hinder the RDF's ability to fully implement their plans in the Southern Quadrants by tying up a number of their forces here."
Azonia pondered this. "Interesting. Still the intriguer, Xamdar. Hopefully, this attempt doesn't end as poorly as your last one."
A dark look came over Xamdar's face at the reminder of his past failures. "This time, it will be different, m'lady," he spat out.
"For your sake, it had better be. You are also lucky Khyron is still out of communication range due to the fold. Once they have come out of fold, I will try to send a blast to him appraising him of the situation. He may go along with it, he may not. However, as he is not here and I am the ranking officer, I will give you this one chance to redeem yourself, Xamdar."
She then glared back.
"Pyoto, Quazmin, if he fails, his life is forfeit. That is coming from Lord Khyron himself."
All three nodded.
"Keep us updated as to the situation. And make sure your communications are shielded. I doubt the Micronians would be too happy that we are still among the living," Azonia stated.
With that, the screen went dark. Quazmin and Pyoto turned towards Xamdar.
"What is your plan, anyways?" questioned Quazmin.
"The Micronians have a saying," Xamdar said with a smile. "That saying is 'money talks'. I should have access to my old accounts as I have plenty of their trade credits stored up. From there, I have some contacts that I can probably get information from. May take a bit of these credits as these Micronians are greedy, but I think I can get something in place that may benefit all of us."
Quazmin looked at Pyoto and then over at Xamdar.
"How long will this take?"
"Probably at least a few weeks, unless, as the Micronians say, something falls into our laps."
Quazmin gave Xamdar a hard look. "You had better not fail again, Xamdar. I doubt Azonia or Khyron would lose much sleep over your termination." And neither would I, he added silently.
Only another forty klicks to go, Ortega thought to himself as he kept driving down the autostrada. Earlier, he had made sure to reach out to his contacts regarding the changes to the plans. At least I made sure to send a warning that I was coming this time, he thought. Doubt they'd be too happy about an unannounced visit under these circumstances.
As he was driving, he noticed a car approaching from behind.
Odd, didn't see that earlier. Could have sworn we were the only ones on the road today.
The approaching car accelerated and began to close the gap between them. It was a split second later he saw the light array on top of the car come on.
"¡Mierda! Of all the things," he spat out silently.
"What's going on?"
Not silently enough. Well, this is about to get tricky, he thought.
"Guess I blew past a speed trap," Ortega stated nonchalantly.
"Wait a second? We're about to get pulled over?" Cryndor responded. A vile Tirolian curse passed his lips as he realized the driver of the other car saw him in the back seat.
Cryndor's eyes went wide as he noticed that Ortega was slowing down.
"Are you insane? We can outrun them!"
"It'd be more insane to try and outrun these guys," Ortega shot back. "Better to deal with one or two federales as opposed to a squad of them. And, around these parts, they tend to shoot first and not ask any questions if it comes to a chase."
In the other car, the two men watched and smiled as the car in front of them slowed down and moved towards the side of the road. The area was a bit more mountainous than the earlier jungle area prior. Seeing where the car in front of them was planning on stopping, it appeared to be perfect.
A nice little ravine. A perfect place to hide two bodies and a burned out car, the driver thought as the car in front slowed and finally came to a stop.
The driver turned to his passenger and nodded. Both men pulled out pistols and cocked them, taking the safeties off. "Simple job," the driver stated. "We walk over, double tap the traitor and the Xerox, and then dump the car over the ledge. Make it look like a bad accident."
"Roger that. Mit Ehre, Freund."
"Mit Ehre."
The two men got out of the car and made their way over to the stopped car in front of them. Drawing their weapons, they looked inside and saw the back seat was empty. Looking towards the front of the car, they saw nobody was there.
"Wo zum Teufel waren sie?!" one of the men spat out.
Another voice came up behind them.
"¡Hola pendejos!"
Ortega smiled as he had his sidearm out. Two shots rang out and the two black uniformed men dropped to the ground, both shot between the eyes. Checking over, Ortega went over to the trunk and popped it open. Cryndor looked over at him, then to the two on the ground.
"Two problems solved," Ortega deadpanned. He looked at one of the men, then at Cryndor. "Grab his uniform and put your clothes on him. And make it quick. Eventually, someone's gonna notice that these maricons are missing."
"That's a uniform I've never seen before," Cryndor stated as he was stripping the now dead man on the ground.
"It's nothing the RDF or the policia issue around here," Ortega responded. He glanced at the patch on the sleeve and winced. Guess Leonard wasn't kidding, he thought. "They're Iron Brigade."
"Iron Brigade?"
"Militia group. They date back to the Civil Wars here before you guys showed up. Real nasty bunch. Not sad I bumped off these two. Humanity will prosper with these pendejos out of the gene pool."
"The ones your insane Colonel, how you say, deputized?"
Ortega nodded. In a short time, both had changed and were wearing the black uniform of the Iron Brigade and had placed the two men now wearing their old clothes in the car they had been using. Thinking for a second, Ortega grabbed a small piece of metal from a pouch. For a minute, Cryndor noticed that Ortega was doing something to the now dead man that was in the front. As Ortega finished up, he motioned Cryndor to come over.
"Hold out your finger."
"For what re...OW! That hurt!"
Ortega took the small piece of metal he had used to prick Cryndor's finger and put into a small device. He attached the small device to the corpse in the back seat and pressed a button. The device hummed for a few seconds, then beeped.
"What did you do?" Cryndor asked.
"Just scrambled that guy's DNA. Basically, I took your DNA sample with that blood and injected and replicated it in this poor bastard here."
"What? How?"
Ortega shook his head as he made his way to the front of the car and put the gear in Drive. He noticed there was a gap in the rails wide enough for a car to fit through and smiled. "No time to explain it now. Right now, I need your help to push this junker over there."
They started to push the car. As it got closer to the gap, it dawned on Cryndor what Ortega was doing.
"You did the same thing to the driver too with your blood?"
Ortega nodded.
A few seconds later, the car dropped over the edge and plummeted down the ravine. A loud crashing noise followed by a muffled rumble confirmed the car had finished its rapid decent. Looking over the edge, Ortega and Cryndor noticed the car was fully engulfed in flames.
Ortega patted Cryndor on the shoulder and shot him a smile.
"So, how does it feel to be dead?"
Cryndor shrugged. "It is not the first time, Micronian. However, at least there's no aftertaste from the nutrient solution."
Ortega did his best to stifle a laugh as they made their way back to their new ride.
A/N - So, a lot of movement here. However, there wasn't much focus in our intrepid little band of heroes that call Macross home. However, there'll be a lot more of them in the next installment. Also, this one does ping-pong a bit between scenes. It made sense to do it in this fashion and hopefully that gets conveyed.
Been a bit remiss to answer a few reviews that have come in since the reboot.
Blue-Azul-Acero - Indeed I have! Just had a minor case of the muse escaping and deciding to run away to some deserted island (that and a few real life situations cropping up). Eventually it got back to me here and I've been able to get things going again.
Remember Crazy - Glad you're enjoying it. Leonard's still got quite a few things up his sleeve, so it remains to see what will happen next. He's a devious and ruthless sort, so pretty much anything is on the table.
Reviews are always nice!
A/N #2 (4/13/18) - Caught a spelling error. Changed accordingly.