Robotech: The Ashes of Empire

by GVincent

The Robotech Masters have abandoned their control of empire, their war with The Invid, and the slave Zentraedi forces still fighting it in an attempt to capture Zor's Battle Fortress directly. In this sudden power vacuum, a rogue leader from a caste of Zentraedi whose function is to enforce the will of The Masters on the warrior caste will attempt to seize power and rule herself.

9. Chapter 9: Survival Situation

Chapter Nine

Survival Situation

"Is there anything more contrary to martial discipline than the survival instinct?"

"The scope and who it includes may change, but when all else is stripped away the warrior mindset makes you define all beings into us and them. You are conditioned to trust us, learn and train to fiercely defend us, and eventually with genuine conviction will trade your life for us against the omnipresent them. You do this because the others who constitute us do this."

"Or so you think."

"Then the supplies begin to dwindle, so you divide what you have between us because them is no longer a being or a group of beings, but time. You have us though and together you are still your best defense against them."

"Aren't you?"

"And then it begins- the inevitable. Them claims its first victory, and soon their after a second, and so on. Them being time, it's only a matter of siege warfare where us is at the clear disadvantage."

"Them claims its victories and you act as though you're oblivious to the choking, stifling death in each while at the same time you feel yourself knot up inside because its only a matter of time before them comes for an us to whom you will not be able to feign indifference. Maybe it will be you?"

"No- of course not. Maybe. If it is though, you know you will do the right thing for us when the air becomes stale and your lungs begin to burn. You know you'll do the right thing and put your sidearm to your own head, or fall on your knife, or simply go off where you can die out of the sight of us. You won't subject us to your last, wheezing, sputtering breaths that will knot them up inside the way you have been."

"You will not."

"And then the thought occurs as you look at the faces that make up us- the thought of who may have held out just a little in sharing when supplies were still plentiful. –But why would they do it?- they're one of us. What would they do to get one more sip of water to slack their thirst, or just one more full breath of clean, unrecycled air? What would they do?"

"What would you do?"

"And then it gets worse, because as you're looking at them, you see they are looking at you with equal suspicion. Us has suddenly become a very, very small group. Them is all around- former comrades become turncoats."

"And what will you do?"

Lieutenant Marosa,

Quadrano

Murhan-Thade 4

"You know, Marosa, for an Action Group, we are pretty inactive.", Vala commented without fear of contradiction.

Vala stood in her Queadlunn-Rau combat suit atop an erosion-worn rocky outcropping that as the highest point in a series of ridges that had been thrust up from the plain centuries earlier by some violent seismic event.

To one unfamiliar with the power armor's superb suitability for almost all terrains, the wind-polished rock made glass smooth would have likely seemed precarious footing for the immense and heavy machine. To the contrary, the Queadlunn-Rau enjoyed a sure purchase on the smooth, sloping surface of the rock thanks to the self-adjusting variable traction pads that formed the soles of the suit's broad-surfaced, articulated feet. Either Vala or Marosa could have stood or advanced on a substantially more severe grade without concern and the thought of sure footing did not even cross their minds.

Other concerns were more prevalent.

The universe had known warriors before the Zentraedi and would with great certainty know warriors after their time had passed. What unified all warriors past, contemporary, and future beside their occupation were the three simple questions that preoccupied the minds of each from the moment that boots touched the ground of the battlefield until the moment that victory was secured with confidence and whether the warrior carried an improvised club or went armed to fight with the most advanced technology.

The three prevailing questions were:

Where am I?

Where are my allies?

Where are my enemies?

Foremost in the minds of the two Quadranos who had taken it upon themselves to move to the highest ground was the obvious question being asked by every veteran of an assault on even the smallest Invid Hive-.

Where were the Invid?

Seven hours had passed since the mixed units of Action Group 442 had put boots or mechanized feet onto the soil of Murhan-Thade 4, and it had been over four since the last Re-Entry Transport Pod had been seen lifting skyward after having deposited the troops it had ferried to the alien world into the operational area.

So great had been the number of Zentraedi moving toward their rallying points that clouds of dust had risen high above them and marked clearly the progress of each massive unit as it traversed the landscape.

But there had been no sign of the Invid.

Moments of transition being the most precarious for any operation, the Zentraedi warriors transitioning from landing to advance- even the most seasoned of them- collectively forced the belief upon themselves that the surprise they had achieved had been so great that the Invid had been caught completely off-guard and unprepared. Invid did not see in the visual spectrum the way Zentraedi did- so the great pawls of displaced dust were of little concern.

But the Invid could see, could sense in a way incomprehensible to their enemies, the very Protoculture that was infused into every Zentraedi cell and that powered every Zentraedi mecha, combat suit, or fighter.

Zentraedi warriors both veteran and novice alike knew this, and even the most inexperienced was quick to understand that so immense a gathering could not be overlooked by the Invid and their unique sixth sense.

Where were the Invid?

-And where were the Te'Dak Tohl?

Action Group 442 had reached its rallying point roughly south of its landing point with impressive speed and cohesion for a hastily assembled, composite unit- speaking greatly to the skills of the warriors, sub-officers, and junior officers who composed it. They had found themselves at the correct co-ordinates on a plain that was only given descriptive character by the nearby series of ridges and had halted in anticipation of the arrival of their commanding Te'Dak Tohl officers.

None had arrived with the last waves of warriors in their landing.

No sign that a second and separate wave of Te'Dak Tohl landings had occurred since.

It had not taken the officers and elder warriors of the warrior caste of Action Group 442 much time to recognize that assembled as they were, they stood exposed on a field in hostile territory. By units at first, and then in mass, the migration had been made into the more defensible topography of the ridges and hills- all without orders from above and by the initiative of the officers and warriors.

-Much as Vala and Marosa had found their way to the highest point.

Both visually and with the sensors of her combat suit, Marosa scanned the horizon through all points of the compass from her vantage point slightly below Vala on the slope of the ridge's highest point. To the west, at the very edge of the reach of her radar, there was indication of another action group assembled around and collapsing back into a similar but smaller ridgeline than the one occupied by the 442nd. Beside this other improvised outpost, there was little sign of anything either Zentraedi or Invid. The last composite units had vanished over the horizon hours before bound for their own rallying points and were presumably assembled there awaiting the arrival of their own Te'Dak Tohl officers.

Marosa wondered if there were warriors atop the highest point of the ridges to the west looking back at her, and whether warriors in places beyond her ability to detect were feeling the same disquieting feeling rise within them.

"Tell me that I just have my sensors set wrong, Vala.", Marosa said, welcoming the possibility beyond reason that either the detection gear of her power armor or its use by the pilot was faulty.

"Then I do too.", Vala said bleakly, "Or, we're both just looking at dust, rock, and not much else."

"This isn't good.", Marosa said stating the obvious.

Normally, Marosa would have expected a pointed rebuke from her friend in their familiarity with one another. Disturbingly, Vala made none. Like Marosa, it seemed that she was preoccupied with the seriousness of their situation that was progressively growing clearer.

In landing operations and assaults on the scale that was being attempted here, it was not unusual for units to be out of direct line of sight with one another. Coordination of movement and situational awareness down to the individual warrior was achieved by tactical data link provided by the orbiting command and control ship. With this continuous flow of data between the command ship and the landed forces, individual warriors could look beyond their own means of seeing and know the exact positions of their comrades.

Except for now.

A simple but troubling icon flashed persistently in the corner of Marosa's field of view- her Queadlunn-Rau telling her that the tactical data link that allowed the precision movement of great armies was unavailable to her.

"Why would they cut the tactical feed?", Marosa asked knowing that Vala would understand the question perfectly.

Vala answered, not answering the question at all but voicing a suspicion that Marosa had not wanted to put to words.

"I don't think they cut the feed, Marosa. –I don't think they're up there."

"We're never going to hear the end of this from Etmal...", Marosa muttered. A giddy rush of morbid humor unique to dire situations struck her hard, and it took great effort to stifle the laugh that she felt building for want of escape. She managed though.

Escape was showing itself to be a commodity in short supply.

More disturbing to Marosa than the fact that as a Quadrano the thought of escape had so quickly entered her mind was that she could not easily think of a sanctuary to which to escape. Seeing the world at once as she imagined Etmal did, Marosa now grasped the darker implications of the Te'Dak Tohl's assertion of control over every aspect of the operation now underway.

The first question that preoccupied all warriors came to her now, only with a meaning it had not had before: Where am I?

The interrogative had assumed the meaning of condition now more than of location, and the answer was indisputable.

Trapped.

"In case something happens-.", Sub-Commander Ritzal chuckled grimly as he repeated Commander Pach's words that were proving prophetic.

From that base of suspicion, the troubling picture of the situation was gelling in Ritzal's head as he continued to sit physically idle in his Glaug Pod. Disguised as he was as a platoon lieutenant by Pach's orders, he was still recognizable to his warriors and would be able to easily assume command over them. The probability that he would have to had been slight though, and consideration to how he would persuade other warriors of his true rank and obligation to lead in an emergency had not been well thought out.

Only now the issue was very real.

Ritzal at least had the comfort of knowing that he was not alone in overcoming the obstacle of validating his leadership to those around him. Sub-Commander Kranna, Destroyer 741's Gnerl Fighter Group commander, was perpetrating the same charade as Ritzal in assuming the guise of a lower officer on Commander Pach's orders. Normally with the ample if not healthy rivalry that the two field commanders regularly engaged in, Kranna's difficulties so long as they did not adversely affect operational effectiveness were of little concern to Ritzal, and often a source of some amusement.

Ritzal was certain that this form of entertainment was shared mutually.

Now though, with Kranna as familiar, tried, and trusted comrade in a sea of strange faces- Ritzal felt almost as much apprehension for the challenges the fighter commander would face as for those he would face himself.

There was certainly reason enough for apprehension to go around.

Besides the lack of a single Te'Dak Tohl warrior's, and more importantly officer's presence on Murhan-Thade 4, beyond the fact that not a single communication from the landed force of warriors had been replied to and that the tactical data link from the command ship was not active- Kranna's position in the sky was offering both he and therefore Ritzal additional and disquieting perspective on the overall situation.

"No sign whatsoever?", Ritzal said, repeating Kranna's report.

"None.", replied Kranna immediately, "Zero. We're skimming the top of the atmosphere now- transports holding station for operations should be just inside our sensor range. I'm showing nothing-. No transports, no destroyers running ground support pickets, not a scout or even a Re-Entry Transport. We are alone here."

"But you did have contact as you were ascending?", Ritzal clarified.

"As we were ascending to altitude, yes.", Ritzal confirmed, "But we lost contact after only a minute or so- the transports slipped out of range. Like I told you then, it was as though they were breaking orbit. I can go trans-atmospheric, scout for them with the Group- but if they don't want to be found, even with that many Gnerls in a search pattern, it will be like finding a single pebble in a field."

"And if they're hiding intentionally, then they're not likely to be receptive to us searching. Don't press your luck. Collect up the Group and return to a defensive patrol pattern over my position. I don't intend to sit here until I run out of air."

"Where do you intend to go?", Kranna asked.

"To the nearest supply point.", Ritzal replied, "I'm going to see how many warriors from this action group I can convince to come with me and I'm taking them there."

"We can provide cover from above.", Kranna offered, "And I'll lead the scouting element ahead of you personally."

Ritzal suddenly felt uncomfortable at the prospect of leaving a defensible position for the open field, but there was nothing to be gained by staying.

"That's appreciated. Let's hope your efforts weigh heavier on the scouting side and less on the covering."

A pause between the two sub-commanders ended with Kranna saying cautiously, "-I don't think we're going to find anything at the supply dump, Ritzal."

"I don't either.", agreed the ground element's officer.

"Then why give up your position? I can have the answer for you of what is there in five minutes.", Kranna suggested, "Moving your forces will only eat up their consumable s at an accelerated rate- especially among the infantry."

Ritzal had to grudgingly grant Kranna his valid point, "All true-. But without orbiting ships to provide tactical and communications links, the only way to exchange information and collaborate is to meet other warriors face to face. Sooner or later, they will get the idea to gravitate toward supply areas. It will be an opportunity to increase our numbers and pool our resources- that may be the best we can do for ourselves."

Kranna justly pointed out, "And if the others you come across aren't interested in pooling resources?"

"Then we deal with that when we have to.", Ritzal said, "If nothing else, the warriors need to see for themselves. If they understand our situation, it will be easier to maintain unit cohesion. –If drastic action is required. Bring your Group in, Kranna. I'll start organizing our movement on the ground."

"One more word-.", Kranna requested.

"That being?"

"Invid."

There was little Ritzal could say on the subject. The Invid were never far from his mind, especially when deployed in a supposedly active area of occupation. At the same time though, circumstances being as they now appeared to be, the Invid were not the center of Ritzal's attention either.

The first and most disturbing possibility that came immediately to Ritzal's mind was that he and millions of his kind had just been deposited on this alien world as a spoiling force- a distraction. Ritzal could envision the ease with which the Te'Dak Tohl might decide to sacrifice the multitude of warriors now on Murhan-Thade 4 in a simple diversionary move in order to draw an Invid force out into the open or away from a strategic asset such as a Regent's Hive. The number of warriors present would be a tempting if not irresistible lure to the Invid if this was indeed the Te'Dak Tohl's tactic.

Ritzal chose not to voice these thoughts- not even to Kranna. They were after all only speculation and impossible to prove with the information available. Also, speculation also consumed air without any real benefit and that was air that Ritzal suspected he should be mindful of conserving.

"I think the Invid are where the Te'Dak Tohl are.", Ritzal said cryptically.

"And where would that be?", Kranna asked.

"Not here. Bring your fighters in, Kranna and prepare to take on command of as many as will follow you."

Ritzal switched his Glaug Pod's communications system to the frequency identified by the operational plan as that strictly for the command use of Action Group 442. Despite the fact that Invid did not use nor did they have any form of radio-based communications, standard command and control practice mandated that Ritzal use at least minimal encryption in addressing warriors below him and especially in the act of issuing orders. Ritzal ignored this knowing fully that it was possible if not probable that other Zentraedi units might be monitoring the frequency.

He would be satisfied with assuming control of his own warriors again in the absence of a higher command structure, but if he could influence the other warriors of Action Group 442- and maybe even those of other units- to mutually beneficial action, he invited the chance.

"Attention all officers and warriors of Action Group 442-.", Ritzal began, mustering his most persuasive and disciplined voice, "I am Sub-Commander Ritzal of the 741st Mechanized Infantry Element, 4234th Destroyer Squadron, 604th Grand Army. I am here in violation of Te'Dak Tohl operational orders, but nonetheless as apparent ranking officer I am compelled to step forward and act. By now you are all aware either directly or indirectly that we have had communications with the operational command ship severed. I cannot offer you anything more than speculation for the reason for this break in the chain of command and I will not try. What I can say is that in the absence of communication with our transport and supply ships we must assume that we are cut off from their resources and must fend for ourselves until contact with higher command can be re-established."

"For this reason, I am assuming control of this Action Group and ordering a movement to our assigned re-supply area which is in the process of being scouted by Gnerl units. We will move to the re-supply area, attaching other units we may encounter along the way with the hope of securing supplies and linking up with other like-minded Zentraedi forces."

"Outside of my command, I recognize that I am not known to you- but I call upon every warrior to act by The Warrior's Code and to maintain discipline and sense of Duty. Together we must face the situation we have found ourselves in, and together we will emerge from it together."

"All units are to fall out and reassemble to the east in standard combat advance formation. Move out!"

There was no direct verbal reply to Ritzal's address to the action group, but he was sure that there had to be a high level of incredulity among the warriors and officers who had never followed him into battle before. Despite whatever skepticism there might have been, the action group began to show signs of reacting to their new orders in the best tradition of Zentraedi warriors.

Units began to displace from the cover of terrain they had positioned themselves in for the openness of the plain beyond where the great unit could assemble again for the march to the re-supply area.

The fear that his authority might be refused on mass and his orders ignored subsided for the moment in Sub-Commander Ritzal. It may have been that with the lack of anything else to cling to, the warriors of Action Group 442 welcomed the familiarity of simply having an order to follow. It may also have been a broad recognition that there was nothing else to be done and that any act in the interest of self-preservation was better than standing idle.

In either case, it appeared to Ritzal that he was succeeding in rallying the action group.

Whether he could or would long retain his new command Ritzal knew depended heavily on what Kranna found in his reconnoiter of the re-supply area.

They were in action though, and action would at least carry them to the next challenge.

Marosa and Vala watched from amongst their combined squadrons of Quadranos as Action Group 442 disintegrated around them and moved east through a rising veil of yellow-orange dust raised by mechanized and booted feet. Oddly, the Quadranos who were accustomed to leading movements seemed hesitant to budge. To some degree both subordinates to Point Lieutenant Tuissant knew it was an imbedded reluctance to submit to the command of a male officer of the common warrior ranks- because they felt it too.

"Well-", Marosa said optimistically to her friend and comrade, "This is better than standing around doing nothing, isn't it?"

"This wasn't quite what I had in mind.", Vala replied, "But still-."

"If this sub-commander is going to secure supplies, I want to be sure that we have access to them.", Marosa said in a way that indicated it was not a topic for debate.

"Me too.", agreed Vala, "It looks like we're going then, doesn't it?"

"Quadranos", Marosa ordered, "Fall in and form up!"

Answering to the orders of one of their own, the Quadranos were more responsive and quickly added to the mass spilling from the terrain onto the field below.

Artoc

Philisto's color had improved to Darius's perception since they had been ushered quickly from their relative sanctuary aboard the Trendok 145 Factory over an hour before. A modest but steady stream of wine the scientist had brought with him in an acrylic flask had something to do with it, Darius was sure.

Philisto's consumption of this offering from their food and medical synthesizer had been noticeable but not alarming since they had gained access to the portable machine. It had escalated somewhat during the hours when both Tirolians knew the purge of the norghil to be occurring, but had subsided thereafter and plateaued at a level calming to Philisto's nerves.

It did not affect the elderly scientist's ability to perform his functions, so Darius allowed Philisto's self-medication to continue without comment- but under interested supervision.

Darius concluded quietly that it had been some strange side effect of the purging of the norghil that Philisto suffered from. Though there had not been a single shot fired within audible range of the laboratory that the two Tirolians now called home, Philisto had withdrawn into himself more noticeably during the purge and had not fully re-emerged.

Really though, the purging of the norghil was only the most immediate trigger for Philisto's condition. Darius knew that it was conscience that truly afflicted him. Unaffected as he was, Darius still felt the sporadic moments of pity for his old friend who seemed to suffer amply for them both. These moments were becoming less frequent though as the pace of the scientists' work began to build and Philisto's pathetic bouts with morality appeared to increase.

Darius could not hold himself accountable for the decision Philisto made freely to participate, and he had no intention of trying. Philisto needed only to be propped up enough to function at their work.

Philisto had gone ashen at first with a noticeable assertion of the palsy that was always with him. As the minutes had passed into hours, Philisto's ashen appearance became a more paled one- making the scientist look out of place to Darius in that he was out of the grave.

Krymina had summoned both Darius and Philisto unexpectedly and without explanation.

Having been at work for more hours than he could remember, Darius had managed to stifle all but the most muted signs of indignation at being taken from the laboratory. Better judgment had dictated that the maintaining of an amicable relationship with the Te'Dak Tohl outweighed the final details of the task he and Philisto had been working at. Still, Darius had considered whether the medicine that had so successfully returned the color to Philisto's skin might also help him conceal the increasing agitation he felt as his valued time slipped by without clear reason for its loss.

"Are we to go further?", Philisto asked, showing a sudden awareness of his surroundings.

At first, the unexpected outburst sounded to Darius like a question whose issue had already been decided. Then it became embarrassingly clear that Philisto referred only to whether they had arrived at the destination of their summons.

The journey whose point was still unclear to the Tirolians had taken some time and logistical consideration for the traveling of a relatively short distance. A junior Zentraedi officer had arrived with armed escorts at the Tirolians' laboratory home and had borne them by the converted carrying case that the smaller beings had become acquainted with to one of The Factory's many shuttle hangars. A standard shuttle then ferried the scientists to Artoc- which had apparently come into port after the Trendok 145 had been ridded of norghil.

Darius was not surprised that he had not been informed of Krymina's flagship coming in. He had no need to know other than passing interest and no expectation that he would be told. As the shuttle transporting Philisto and he approached, Darius did recognize the dramatic flair that he was certain Krymina was cognizant of and fully intended in having her flagship stand brazenly at the center of the spacedock that she had overseen the taking of for herself.

Though the carrier transporting the Tirolians had not been placed ideally within the shuttle's cabin to allow its occupants to see out the viewing ports, Darius had gotten glimpses of shuttles from Krymina's subordinate commands on the flight deck.

"I don't know. But we are in noteworthy company at least."

Darius found himself too correct in his assertion.

As they disembarked from their shuttle, carried by the officer still in their makeshift conveyance, Darius recognized most of the officers present by face if not by name. He had grown accustomed to seeing them at General Krymina's briefing table in the handful of sessions he had attended. They now stood in small groups speaking with one another in such a way that suggested to the Tirolian scientist that their purpose in being aboard the flagship was not clear to them either.

Side glances were made at the carrying case with the Tirolians inside, but these were brief and showed little interest to compete with the topic of the small discussions that were ongoing.

Something unseen to Darius and Philisto caused an immediate reaction in the ranks of the Zentraedi officers. Much as they assembled at Krymina's briefing table, they quickly fell into order of rank and position on the deck- sub-generals standing at a distance side-by side, with their subordinates arranged shoulder to shoulder in neat rowas behind.

Krymina and Caldettas made their entrance before the assembly without comment but moving with the energy of an anticipated gain. Krymina's eyes never met those of her junior officers standing rigidly before her, nor did they even pass over them with any more interest than was given to the assortment of shuttles and transport pods on the deck around the assembly. She did not glance at the Tirolians whom she had summoned from their work and whom their escort had released to the deck so that they might present themselves to the commander as the Zentraedi officers did- only in smaller stature.

Krymina did not appear to see those before her and made no attempt to acknowledge them with her approach, but Darius felt that she was very much aware of them all.

Krymina came to an abrupt halt and placed herself centrally before the columns of officers, keeping the distance of a dozen paces between herself and the line of sub-generals. Caldettas motioned to a squad of Te'Dak Tohl warriors, unarmed but in battle dress, who two apiece boarded two separate shuttles and re-emerged a moment later. Each pair bore the unmistakable shape of a Zentraedi form- a lifeless Zentraedi form- beneath the crude shroud of a blanket.

Each body was laid out between Krymina and her audience, and the shrouds whisked away as the warriors vacated the deck.

Bloodied, burned, and mangled with gaping wounds, Darius was still able to identify the two corpses as General Alzyha of the male 604th Grand Army, and General Bohan of the female 417th.

The color that wine had returned to Philisto's complexion vanished again and a strange clicking noise came from his throat. Darius understood with his next breath the stifled gagging of his colleague as his nostrils filled with the thick scent of burned flesh and other unpleasant odors released when the internal organs of a body were opened to the air.

A ripple of shock and disgust passed through the assembly of officers who to the warrior were accustomed to the horrific assaults death often made on the senses. Admirably, they contained their revulsion stoically and maintained their disciplined appearance in the presence of their superior.

Still without a word, Krymina raised her hands to the high collar of her uniform tunic to remove her badge of general's rank. The ornamentation, derived from a Tirolian symbol whose exact meaning had been lost to the Zentraedi generations before, was cast aside by Krymina and clattered across the deck.

The commanding officer was not without badge of rank for long though.

Caldettas raised and opened a small metal case he had been carrying, unseen to the other officers, and offered its contents to Krymina who accepted it silently. Without hesitation, Krymina affixed the badges of rank of supreme general to her tunic collar where the other pins had been located moments before.

A stunned silence hung over the officers at the display that they had been witness to.

No Te'Dak Tohl had ever been granted the rank of supreme general- their numbers and command structure did not warrant a position of that magnitude. Only one Zentraedi had in fact been awarded the distinction of that rank by endorsement of The Robotech Masters, that of authority second only to Dolza.

The only name, Te'Dak Tohl or norghil, associated with the rank of supreme general had been one that had been on the lips of all in the assembly before Krymina for some time now- and that name was Breetai.

Being of a culture that at one time had embraced the various dramatic arts, Darius was perhaps more keen to perceive a a performance when he saw it than the Zentraedi officers who were the bulk of Krymina's audience.

Not as clumsy as it could have been, Krymina's display was successful in that it was clear in its intent, and its meaning was dual. As it concerned the 7th Grand Army of The Te'Dak Tohl, The Robotech Masters' authority had been decisively usurped. Also in pinning on her higher rank there was the same sense of preparing for battle that came as a warrior donned armor.

A match was being set in Krymina's mind and there was only one opponent now worthy of squaring off against.

Darius, never having studied the heavily moral-laden classical tragedies with more than mild interest was still aware that the great falls of Tirolian literature often began with such an act. While it was unlikely that Krymina enjoyed the exposure to the refined wisdom of these fading parables, Darius was certain that to some degree and from her own experiences Krymina was aware of the perils inherent in the power she was yoking. The supreme general had demonstrated already great discipline over herself and it was possible that she might possess the control to break the tragic rule.

It was possible, but Darius had not seen nor had he heard of it happening yet.

It did not matter for his purposes because to Darius, Krymina's fate was inconsequential. It was all that she was to do before that judgment was rendered that interested him.

"The norghil head is severed and the body is dying.", Krymina began, never having actually looked down at the evidence of carnage before her, "The purge will soon be complete in its entirety, and we will begin the process of building an army to the scale appropriate for the main task ahead."

"Our struggle will soon begin in earnest, and our success is by no means assured. Breetai, for all his faults, will not fall as easily as have his lieutenants, and we do not know the disposition of his new allies. I do know this army though, as we have seen many campaigns together. With this army at the core of the force we are to build, I have the utmost confidence that we can only succeed."

"Success, I remind you, is not simply another victory to add to our many- it is the victory of real meaning for the Te'Dak Tohl, for it will be our first victory. It will be a victory over The Masters, a victory over the norghil who sap our strength in their brute clumsiness, and mostly it will be the victory of self-determination. We fight now to decide for ourselves. We struggle from this moment on to hold for ourselves, for the Te'Dak Tohl, what we conquer. So we now set our minds to the task of taking back what is rightfully ours- Zor's Battle Fortress, and all its secrets. Those technologies that made us, will in time make us invincible."

Krymina turned on her heel and departed in the direction from which she had come without another word, leaving her top officers still in shock.

Caldettas, likely the only officer who had been privileged to the purpose of the assembly, lingered to address the company of officers and staff.

"Action Army commanders are to assemble for a high level briefing and discussion by the order of Supreme General Krymina. All others may feel free to return to their command vessels as they see fit. Supreme General Krymina will also require her core strategic staff and our guests, the Tirolian scientists. The briefing will begin in one half hour and terminate when the business is complete. Any important issues that require your attention should be dealt with now."

Caldettas followed the path of his superior and was gone just as quickly.

Darius and Philisto were isolated from the giants in discussion by their mere size, and also by the fact that the Zentraedi had simply shown little interest in them before and even less now.

In truth, Darius was little interested in what they thought or had to say to one another either. His mind was elsewhere.

"We live to see interesting times, Philisto.", Darius said, "Do you remember the mythic tragedy of Cratas?"

Philisto was slow in responding, but he knew the tale of warning as all educated Tirolians did in the general if not the fine details, "He took the crown without the consent of the gods, and as a punishment they granted him what outwardly seemed the gift of inextinguishable fire-. And he burned the world to ashes."

"I wonder if Krymina would benefit from acquainting herself with the old tales?", Darius speculated, unafraid that others would hear him.

"Have we?"

"And that means what, Philisto?"

Philisto looked mournfully at the deceased norghil officers before him, grieving what they symbolized more than their individual passing.

"Did we hand her the crown?"

"No.", Darius corrected, "We're the keepers and the providers of the flame."

Destroyer 741

The commanders of the 4234th Destroyer Squadron sat in conference again via communications link.

Days earlier, an easily calculated number of hours, a meeting of the commanders of the squadron would have involved a dozen officers. Now, their numbers were reduced to three.

Commander Pach had several times since their escape from the Trendok 145 Factory tried to convince himself that there was at least the possibility that other ships had broken away from the Te'Dak Tohl snare- even if they were not from the 4234th. He wanted to believe that any fugitive vessel would think as he did and would at this moment also be bound for Murhan-Thade 4 to recover what warriors Fate saw fit to preserve.

Pach had invested great personal effort in forging these beliefs, but dark realism had at every attempt torn those beliefs to shreds. At the time of their escape, there was no indication that other commands were even prepared to mount a defense for themselves, let alone achieve escape.

Commander Pach hoped but also grappled with the possibility that the three destroyers under the command of the officers with whom he now met remotely were not only the substance of the 4234th Destroyer Squadron, but of the 604th Grand Army as well.

Both Action Commander Gymalt and Commander Sylas looked haggard and weary. The weight of what had happened at The Robotech Factory was clearly settling upon them, and heavily by the sight of the two officers.

Pach wondered whether the conflict between hope and realism raging inside of him afflicted them as well, and whether he looked as exhausted as they.

Appearances were irrelevant though- Duty still required action of them.

"I see no reason for protocol or formalities, so let us speak freely.", Gymalt said, "We are faced with making difficult decisions, the three of us, and soon. In the absence of reliable information to the contrary, I'm forced to make the assumption that our three vessels were the only ones to escape The Factory."

Pach had at least a partial answer to his question and in Gymalt's concurrence with the possibility of the worst-case scenario, hope of rallying with other refugees from Alszyha's army seemed that much dimmer. The commander accepted this quietly.

Sylas smiled darkly as a flash of gallows humor possessed him, "That would make you ranking officer in Alzyha's army, Gymalt. Congratulations."

Both Pach and Gymalt were not able to contain mild signs of amusement at the dire irony in the truth to which Sylas had spoken.

"I won't let the power go to my head.", Gymalt assured his subordinates, "For now, we must assume that we three represent all that's left. The question, the first of many then, is what do we do next?"

"I'd advise against a counteroffensive.", Sylas said grimly.

Dychi, who sat to the right of Pach's position at the head of the table seemed disturbed by Sylas's flippant remark. Dychi didn't know the commander the way that Pach did. Sylas, in his own way, was as intent on sorting things through in his mind as were the other two commanding officers. This was simply his method for coping with the seemingly insurmountable obstacles before them.

Across the table from Dychi, Gerrok seemed completely disconnected from the discussion at hand and unconcerned with the issues on which it was based. Gerrok's thoughts were unquestionably with his ship. Decisions would be made, orders given- his part was to make sure that from the technical standpoint they could be carried out. Nothing else seemed to touch the engineer, and both Pach and Dychi found themselves somewhat envious of that.

"The first priority", Pach said, confident in the cause,"-is recovery of our warriors. Duty demands we go to their aide, if any can be given."

Sylas's expression darkened again, though this time there was no humor in his statement, "I don't disagree with you, Pach, but we also must be honest with ourselves. If anything of the plan set forth by the Te'Dak Tohl can be believed, the landings on Murhan-Thade 4 were either in progress or completed by the time that we made our escape. Even at maximum fold-warp, we are still over three days from Murhan-Thade 4. Our warriors, beginning with the infantry, will begin to run out of breathable air in just over two days. Our mechanized units won't be far behind them. There is a very high probability that they could all be dead by the time we reach them."

"Are you suggesting that we don't even make the attempt?", Pach asked, feeling the stir of anger which he succeeded in tempering.

"No, of course not.", replied Sylas, "But there are risks involved- great ones, and for an effort that may be futile. Consider this, Pach, and I mean really consider it. We have no way of knowing how many Te'Dak Tohl vessels we can expect to find when we reach Murhan-Thade 4. If they left a squadron of destroyers, we'd be outnumbered eight to one on arrival, and the Te'Dak Tohl could have as easily left four squadrons, or a fleet for that matter. And you have to assume that they will at least know that there's a possibility that we're coming."

"I've considered this, and I accept the risk.", Pach said bluntly, "The lives we put in peril are far fewer than those we stand to save. If we were giving orders in battle, a similar decision in setting priorities would not be as difficult."

"There are other considerations though.", Sylas pointed out.

"Such as?"

Gymalt, to Pach's surprise, came in to support Sylas, saying, "Such as the grander ambitions of the Te'Dak Tohl."

Pach fell silent for a moment, realizing that indeed the plot of the Te'Dak Tohl did not end with his escape from it. In truth, He was completely ignorant of what the purpose of the betrayal had been, and to his shame Pach realized that he had not dedicated much thought to it.

Gymalt continued, "I see no reason to believe that the Te'Dak Tohl have finished their business. They were taking great care to capture our vessels without causing them irreparable damage. That tells me that the capture of our fleet, and that of General Bohan, was not the end, but merely a step toward something greater. What that greater end is, I do not know, but I am certain it is not to end with the murder of two armies. What Sylas is suggesting, Pach- and I am inclined to agree with him- is that as much of a responsibility as we have to our warriors, we have a greater responsibility to the other armies that may cross General Krymina's path and suffer the same fate as did ours. We are obligated to warn others as we can."

"Of course.", Pach said, "I did not mean to imply-."

"Of course you didn't.", Gymalt said, "Though Sylas's point is one that is well to be taken. We cannot risk ourselves, as the sole witnesses and messengers of this treachery. As important as the lives of thousands of warriors are, to attempt to save them could mean endangering the lives of millions."

"Nonetheless, I will not abandon my warriors.", Pach said firmly, "Not without contest."

"Nor will I.", agreed Sylas, "But I will say this before the both of you as well-. If it should come down to being a matter of having to choose between committing to a hopeless battle to save thousands, or abandoning those thousands to save millions- I choose to save the millions. Duty demands it. The Warrior's Code demands it."

"As will we all.", Gymalt said, issuing a clear order without giving it as such, "But that is a course that we will not take unless it is forced upon us. Until that time, we will plan on recovering as many warriors as we can from Murhan-Thade 4. Our own warriors will have preference- and then any others we can accommodate aboard our three vessels."

"If there are that many left alive.", Sylas said, returning to the grim topic of moments earlier.

"My warriors will be in acceptable condition.", Pach volunteered readily, "Sub-Commander Ritzal is both willful and outspoken, but he is capable as an officer and skilled in what he needs to lead his warriors in this situation. He will improvise and do what is needed for his warriors to survive. I only have to reach him."

"That may mean drastic measures.", Sylas warned, "Doing what is needed to survive, I mean. At best it will mean a struggle for provisions. At worst-. I don't care to think about at worst."

"Then I count myself fortunate not to be in Ritzal's place, or Kranna's either.", Pach admitted, "But I have confidence that they will survive with their warriors."

Sylas nodded and let the subject pass.

There was nothing more that could be done for any of the warriors on Murhan-Thade 4, not for nearly four days. Talking the ghastly possibilities over would serve no constructive purpose- only fill the heads of the three commanders with unpleasant distractions.

They did not need to be distracted. All three needed to be clear of thought, and to the same purpose. Gymalt had spoken to this somewhat already, and Pach would obey. It was time to move on.

"Let's assume for a moment", Sylas began, "that we are able to issue a warning to other Zentraedi armies that are still on campaign. What would we say? And who are we that they would believe us? That is, of course, overlooking the problem of locating the other armies that are roaming the universe."

"We suffer from a general lack of such information by The Masters' design. We don't even know how many armies we are speaking of, to say nothing of their location. We, independently don't have the broadcasting strength to send a wide hyperspace communication over any significant distance. And getting back to my other point, if twelve days ago either of you had suggested to me that the Te'Dak Tohl would be slaughtering the bulk of our army, I'd have thought you were both inhaling waste vapors from the air scrubbers. We're talking about sending a feeble and at best incredible story to parties unknown. We at least need to find a way to make for a stronger broadcast signal if we can't make what we're saying more believable."

"A Factory.", Pach suggested, "A Robotech Factory would possess both the knowledge of the whereabouts of other Zentraedi armies, as well as have the power to reach them through The Network."

"Didn't we just leave a Factory?", scoffed Sylas.

"It may be the only way.", Gymalt said.

"It is the only way.", Pach said confidently, "Though there are many difficulties involved in this possibility as well. Not the least of which is finding another Factory-."

"And somehow assuring that the Te'Dak Tohl don't seize that one as well.", Sylas added and continued, "The Factories are aware of one another's positions. If the Factories are aware, then the Te'Dak Tohl may be aware as well. Their plans, whatever they are, required a Factory- I'm sure two would be even more beneficial to them. So, we need only find a Factory without summoning it or contacting it in such a way that the Te'Dak Tohl can monitor, and make use of it without the Te'Dak Tohl seizing the opportunity to do the same-. Is that about it?"

"Mostly.", admitted Pach, realizing all of the gaps inherent in his plan from Sylas's brief, off-the-cuff rambling.

"Well, when you have it figured out, brief me.", Sylas said, "For now, I'm concentrating on the impossibilities involved with rescuing my warriors."

"We should all concentrate on the more immediate problems at hand.", Gymalt resolved, "I have not yet received a full assessment of damage to my own ship. I'm sure that the both of you would like to be more familiar with the condition of yours. We will meet again by com-link in twelve hours. At that time we will discuss the strategy we will use to retrieve our warriors- and those others we can save. Twelve hours. Out."

As the viewscreen flickered and vanished into nothing, Pach looked directly across at Gerrok.

"Our status?"

Gerrok shrugged, "Better than when we entered dock, worse than we should have been on leaving it."

"Could you be a little more specific?", Dychi asked, his voice edgy.

Gerrok tapped his fingers on the tabletop, "Certainly. Most of the damage is forward-. There are twelve gun batteries that are damaged to various degrees. Of the twelve, we can completely salvage nine if we strip the other three for parts. We have minor pressure hull breeches in the same area, but we can either repair those or close off the affected areas. Power generation, propulsion, and communications are all functional. Better?"

"Much.", Dychi said, "So we are fit for battle?"

"Depends on the battle I'd say.", Gerrok replied, "One on one? Yes? Three on one, I'd still give us better than average odds. If you mean the potential odds that Sylas was speaking of-."

Pach motioned to the officers gathered at the table around him, "Speculation at this point is futile. We can only wait and see what materializes. From all division heads, I want an assessment of our operating abilities, given our reduced numbers. I want that assessment in four hours. We will determine where we are weak and fill the gaps as best we can."

"From where?", Gerrok asked.

Pach said immediately, "From our stronger divisions. Weaker divisions will draw from the stronger ones.- And all will provide for operational ground and air units."

Gerrok glanced sharply at the commanding officer, "Breaking out of the Factory cost me twenty-six of my engineering staff- six of them were some of my finest. Speaking for myself alone, I can't afford to lose more staff, and I can't replace them with intelligence officers or sensor operators."

Dychi stepped in quickly, "Sub-Commander Gerrok, you've been given an order and I-."

Gerrok snapped back, "You can order me to grow a third arm- that doesn't mean that I can do it."

Pach motioned to Gerrok to be calm, "We will take into account these considerations, Gerrok. You won't be left to run engineering by yourself. For the rest of you- and you as well Gerrok- you all have duties to attend to. Dismissed."

Gerrok nearly flew free of his seat upon dismissal and stormed from the briefing room with the presence of someone twice his impressive size. Wisely, the other officers made a path for the fuming engineer and avoided eye contact as he passed.

A moment was given for him to clear the corridor before the others followed with considerably less drama.

Dychi lingered and waited for the door to close before he spoke.

"Lord, I disagree with the way that Gerrok spoke out of place, but I must admit that he does have a valid point. We cannot simply trade crew members at whim between divisions. Many functions are too highly specialized. We certainly cannot use our specialists as infantry or fighter pilots- not in any situation that promises even modest casualties. We would effectively bleed ourselves to death."

"We're already bleeding to death, Dychi.", Pach countered, "The question is, how quickly do we reach the end?"

Dychi's change of expression made Pach realize he had come across more fatalistically than he had intended.

"Don't lose faith.", Pach said, "I don't believe our situation is hopeless-. We have many obstacles, but we may still survive if we act shrewdly. Still, Sylas was wholly correct, you know-. Even should we recover our full complement of warriors, we have still lost an army. The real question is, what do we do next?"

Dychi contemplated the question and then said, "I suppose that it's fortunate that I am not in your position."

"Oh?"

"I admit, I don't have a thought on the matter."

"Nor do I.", admitted Pach, "But the question is upon us. We have to decide for ourselves. That's a first, if you think about it, isn't it?"

An uneasy smile appeared faintly at the corners of Dychi's mouth, "Somehow I find myself wanting the security of the command structure again."

"Me as well.", agreed Pach, "Or we can come to grips with the realization that we are the command structure now. Enough of the ambiguous for now though. I want my warriors back, Dychi, and I will have them back."

"That is my first decision."

"Ours, Lord.", Dychi corrected supportively.

"Ours.", Commander Pach agreed.

Murhan-Thade 4

"All units at halt.", reported Point Lieutenant Bleryi, his voice distant and detached.

It was of little consequence however as Sub-Commander Ritzal was not hearing his impromptu executive officer.

Ritzal's Glaug Officer's Combat Pod squatted with bent knees like a metal beast incapable of fatigue over it's widely spaced feet. The gun cluster appendages at the ends of the mecha's stubby arms stayed leveled at the horizon in an undirected but convincing threat of violence.

The pilot of the pod, normally aware of the imposing sight that the war machine was, barely noticed the Glaug even as the armored canopy opened and allowed him to separate himself. Ritzal made his way down the several stepping points between the cockpit rim and the ground without even really feeling the machine that had borne him to this place.

Kranna and his Gnerl fighters had scouted the area and had reported some time before, so Ritzal had known fully what to expect.

Knowing it and seeing it were two entirely different experiences though.

A light wind kicked up a slight dust over the boots of his environmental body armor as Ritzal walked out in front of his Glaug. A following cloud of dust that had risen under the feet of the action group overtook the officer and partially obscured his vision.

It did not matter though.

There was nothing to be seen.

Another breath of wind snatched away the cloak of the orange-yellow dust and showed more of what Ritzal and his newly commandeered unit had been traveling over for the better part of two hours- dust-worn rock and barren plain.

Far above, a multitude of Fighter Pods split the air with the volume of their pulse-jet engines. Ritzal remembered that Kranna was up there at this very moment, privileged to a view that he was not. Whether the implications of the empty field where there should have been supplies was more profound or manifested itself in a different emotional form from that vantage point, Ritzal could not say. For his part, Ritzal would have preferred anything to the numbness he felt.

"Kranna", Ritzal said, his words relayed by his Glaug Pod to his airborne counterpart, "Tell me my land navigation is off. Tell me that I've stopped short, or that I veered a few degrees off at some point."

"Forgive me that I can't.", Ritzal apologized, "You're standing in the middle of the designated supply area. I've got an eighty artohl sweep of the terrain from this altitude- there's nothing out there that isn't rock."

Ritzal became aware of an immense weight on him. It was not a weight that could be measured, but rather one that only could be felt. What was worse was that Ritzal was the only one who felt this particular weight as it was that of a commanding officer who had to explain the inexplicable to confused warriors.

Ritzal had prepared words in his mind on the march as he had known this moment to be coming, but they were gone now and it took all his will to simply turn and face the warriors who had followed him.

Very nearly the whole Action Group stared back at him.

Some faces he could see- those of infantry or of warriors who had opened the hatches of their Regults to half-emerge and verify by their own eyes what their Regults' sensors told them. Their expressions of violated trust cut Ritzal like the pincer claws of an Invid Trooper though it was not his betrayal that had wounded them.

These were the injuries and his phantom promise of hope that Ritzal had to build a credible plan for survival upon.

"Kranna", Ritzal said, putting off for a moment trying to explain the situation to the Action Group, "Your pilots must be getting fatigued. Find a place to set down and we will rally there. There are no Invid on this world- I'm sure now. We need to meet face to face and come up with a strategy for what's next."

"I agree.", Kranna said- his voice hesitant, "But you're going to have company before long."

Ritzal had been serious in saying that he was sure that no Invid were to be encountered on Murhan-Thade 4, so his reply of inquiry to Kranna implied Zentraedi, "How many, what position, and closing how fast?"

"A mechanized unit- about your size.", Kranna replied cautiously. The Gnerl Fighter Pod was an impressive war machine, but it was designed for combat and not detailed reconnaissance.

"They're west of you now, two-eight-five relative, and at just under eighty artohls. –They're definitely closing. –Oh, and this should delight you-. Females. Queadlunn-Rau combat suits in at least a squadron's strength, plus infantry."

"How fast are they closing?", Ritzal asked repeating his unanswered question.

"Standard advancing pace-.", Kranna answered more readily, "They must not want to leave the infantry behind in a full charge."

Ritzal's mecha came back to life under his command as the canopy snapped shut and the life support system exchanged the foul atmosphere of the planet for fresh air from pressurized flasks.

The sub-commander was only vaguely aware of this process, as his attention had gone immediately to the dedicated sensor display located over his left knee in the cockpit's control console. The sensor display showed his own unit, but nothing on approach from the west. That in itself meant little, only that the approaching force of which Kranna spoke was below the horizon and invisible to his sensors.

This also meant that without an accompaniment of Fighter Pods, or mecha capable of flight, that they could not see him either.

Ritzal realized at once, and to his own disgust, that he was thinking tactically against comrade warriors.

Still, there was no telling as to who they were exactly. More than that, there was no way to know how they would react and what they would do when they discovered that there were no provisions to be had here.

"Kranna", Ritzal said as he made a quick survey of the local topography, "How long until they see us?"

"Fifteen, twenty minutes at the rate they're moving.", Kranna told him, "Their scout units have probably seen my Group already, orbiting the area. You're still well below their sensor horizon though."

Ritzal's quick study of the area revealed that the even plain broke just a short distance to the north. Hills and valleys at best, rocky outcroppings and other land features ideal for concealment and defensible cover- should such a thing become necessary.

"Withdraw to the south, but keep in sensor range to monitor for us.", Ritzal ordered, "We're going north into the higher terrain until we can establish the disposition of the females."

"Sure, we'll withdraw-.", Kranna complied, "But why?"

"Call it precaution. I want to be ready to fight if we must- but I don't want it appear that we want to fight. Having our air cover move off will make us seem a little less intimidating.", Ritzal said, "Now go south, and let them see you go south."

"We're turning south now. Fate be with you."

Ritzal consulted the topographical map that had been downloaded into his Glaug's navigational computer. The area of broken terrain, at a glance, seemed as though it would serve his purpose well. It began its ascent at a slight grade into higher elevation at several points with wedge-like cavities in between. Should the strangers decide to translate the frustration they would feel shortly into a fight, these peninsulas of broken ground could be used to easily thwart any massive frontal assault on the position.

Once again Ritzal found himself thinking tactically and inwardly reasserted that the situation could not be allowed to deteriorate into one that required bloodshed between warriors. The Te'Dak Tohl had already shown themselves to be deft at devising an end to Zentraedi warriors on mass- they did not require assistance from within the ranks.

"Bleryi-", Ritzal said as his Glaug returned to a full, standing posture, "Detach scouting parties to the north. We're establishing a position. We'll need a quick survey to determine points of weakness in the terrain's natural defense to fortify-. Let's prepare to move."

"Yes, Lord.", Bleryi replied, "Second Company, First and Third Platoons- Fall out!-"

Artoc

Supreme General Krymina presided over the assembly of her staff and ranking lieutenants with a quiet intensity that was more pronounced than usual. Whether it was her radiating energy, the shock of her audacity at literally promoting herself to her new rank, or a combination of both- Krymina's presence seemed to dwarf even those of greater physical stature without contest.

Her energy carried though- transferred to her lieutenants and their staff and seemed to channel through them.

Up to this moment all had been involved in achieving historic things for the Te'Dak Tohl unequalled in the caste's history. There was a common sense that they were on the eve of doing greater things that would eclipse even those recent feats, and the doing of them began here and now.

If there was an element to the gathering in the senior officers' briefing room that detracted from it being a monumental event wholly of, for, and by the Te'Dak Tohl, it was the presence of the two Tirolian scientists.

Darius and Philisto sat atop the briefing table itself at a proportionately sized table that had been brought over from the Trendok 145 Factory. They were positioned close enough to Krymina for her to be able to easily hear them should she call upon their counsel- but far enough away to not suggest any favor of the aliens.

If any of the Te'Dak Tohl officers attached significance to the presence of the scientists beyond their functional role, they gave no indication. Whether they added to or diminished the moment, there seemed to be no clear Te'Dak Tohl opinion.

Darius kept his opinion quietly to himself though, and if any of the Zentraedi enforcers at the table had invested any time at all in reading his expression they would have seen the same pride and glee perhaps shown by a clock-smith watching the gears and flywheels of his work in motion for the first time.

Caldettas rose from his chair without ceremony and as the lights dimmed began his briefing. The hologram projector created a star chart over the briefing table whose scale had been reduced to show a single solar system.

The system was minute and unremarkable in scale and content with a single yellow star at its center, eight planets and a single planetoid orbiting. The chart became animated, showing the orbital cycles of each planet and their moons, as well as the substantial belt of asteroids which ran a great circuit between the points of the star and the fifth planet in the system- a great, gas giant- and an even more impressive belt that encircled nearly the entire system.

"The information for this briefing", Caldettas began, speaking confidently from his well-trained memory, "was derived from the central intelligence database of The Factory's Hypercomp computer. With the access codes provided to us by Darius for access to Master-restricted information, as well as that available to Te'Dak Tohl commanders, Supreme General Krymina and I are confident that we have the most complete and accurate intelligence available."

"This is our new objective as directed by Supreme General Krymina. This system is located approximately five point one kiloparsecs from our current position. Specifically, our interest is centered on the third planet of the system- the only planet in the system that supports organic life. This world, by confirmed intelligence, was the terminal point of the journey of Zor's Battle Fortress. Whether by design or by random chance, possibly due to damage incurred, the Battle Fortress made planet-fall on this world and passed into the hands of its indigenous life forms."

"As you are all aware of to varying degrees, it was the assignment of the norghil commander, Supreme General Breetai to track and recover Zor's rogue cruiser. By the time his hunt had led him to this world, the indigenous population- already of evolving technological means- had salvaged and managed to crudely reconstruct the Battle Fortress, infusing their own technologies."

"Supreme General Breetai's army, under explicit orders to recover the Battle Fortress then engaged in a campaign of just over a year to do just that. His efforts, despite his extensive command experience, were unsuccessful. It would seem that his orders to recover the Battle Fortress brought his warriors into prolonged contact with the indigenous population of this world- a race calling itself human. Conditioned for fighting with only minimal exposure to the social and cultural complexities of an independently evolved race, the norghil under Breetai's command became distracted from their task and were eventually deemed as combat ineffective and contaminated. For this reason, and fearing that the contamination would spread to the greater Zentraedi force, Supreme Commander Dolza took it upon himself to destroy both Breetai's forces and the humans to whom Breetai allied himself in the face of that threat."

Caldettas allowed a moment for assimilation of what he had said.

"That is what we have come to know. It omits the important question of what happened to Zor's Battle Fortress subsequent to the battle between Breetai and Dolza. This omission is a meaningful one we believe."

"Supreme General Krymina holds the belief that the Battle Fortress must have survived the struggle. The departure of The Masters from Tirol would seems to indicate that they believe it to have survived in an operable or salvageable state, thus justifying the risk they have exposed themselves to in order to retrieve it."

"Darius and Philisto have also provided us with access to the abundance of information gleaned from Breetai's reports by The Masters regarding the humans and their homeworld."

'The compartmentalization of this information for dissemination to The Masters alone supports our assumption that The Masters are attempting to regain possession of the Battle Fortress for themselves. -The most probable explanation is often the simplest one. Denying the Te'Dak Tohl access to this information indicates that The Masters are concerned that the information may lead to an undermining of an ongoing effort or of their power in general."

Krymina interjected unexpectedly, "The Robotech Masters have proven repeatedly their refusal to do for themselves what can be done by others- unless the action in some way may provide the functionaries with leverage over them. This is historical fact and is indisputable."

Having spoken, Krymina allowed her executive officer to resume,"Caldettas-."

Caldettas nodded and continued, "The information taken from the Hypercomp includes population densities- estimated to be between two-point-five and three billion, basic language files for sixteen identified and distinguishable languages, as well as an abundance of geographic, topographic, and climatic studies. There are of course the standard identification and assessments of industrial and military concentrations and capabilities also, however-."

Krymina reinserted herself into the briefing again as was her right to do. It was not a lack of confidence in Caldettas's briefing skills that prompted Krymina to assume control, but the knowledge that her presentation of what was to be said would set the information firmly in the minds of her subordinates.

"The geographic, climatic, and other elements of physical science data can be interpreted as the foundation needed to lay plans for invasion and occupation. The presence of cultural and language studies supports this as well."

"Furthermore- and I believe this fervently- the fact that The Masters have taken the time to translate the basic syntaxes, grammars, and vocabularies of this world into memory implant files for clones indicates that The Masters plan to stay on this world. I suspect they see this world as an opportunity for a new start for themselves, a new empire, perhaps even a new Zentraedi race to protect them and an indigenous population to serve them."

"I mean to deprive them of that."

Caldettas waited for Krymina to fall silent again, an indication that he could proceed.

"-And this world would be an ideal place from which The Masters could re-establish their power-. The planet has a similar mass to Tirol, one point zero nine the mass to be exact. Similar climatic variations to the seasons of Tirol, with a nitrogen and oxygen atmosphere-. Most appealing to The Masters perhaps is the lack of any Invid activity even remotely close to the system. In short, this world is the sanctuary The Masters require to rebuild."

"In high-level discussions on the objective of seizing Zor's Battle Fortress for ourselves and taking another step toward complete Te'Dak Tohl autonomy and dominance, it was agreed upon that the probability that we could reach the alien world before The Masters with sufficient and suitable forces to defeat Breetai and then stand a reasonable chance of fending off The Masters, The Invid, or both was low. It was decided that we must now dedicate ourselves to constructing a force capable of engaging in and winning exactly that kind of conflict."

Sub-General Jekketh exploited the natural pause in Caldettas's speaking to interject with sufficient presence as to successfully divert the attention of the assembly to himself.

"Supereme General Krymina, while we- if I may be so presumptuous as to speak for the other commanders at the table- agree with your assessment of the situation and on the best way to proceed-. In all honesty, the intelligence we have in hand will be of little value if we are not the first to arrive and engage in this new area of operations. We will require a direct and reliable source of intelligence, independent of the channels provided for us by The Robotech Masters. In short, we will require an observation force that can both blend into the Zentraedi population that was marooned on this alien world after the conflict with Dolza, and that can also relay relevant information to you in a timely fashion."

"I don't need to cite any of numerous infamous battles wherein a superior force was fatally compromised in action by flawed intelligence."

In the presence of Supreme General Krymina, there was no verbal response to Jekketh's assertion- but the mood of the room changed significantly enough to show concurrence of all without the use of words.

"A valid point, Sub-General Jekketh", Krymina said, confident that Jekketh's observations had been voiced without intent of contradicting her chosen course, "And we do lack updated intelligence- for the moment. This will change though."

"As we begin to build the norghil portion of our invasion army, we will also commence extensive probing operations of the human world. We will determine the size and strength of Breetai's remaining fleet, and whatever contributions the humans have made to it."

"In the unlikely event that we reach the alien world before The Masters, we will require more than the knowledge of how many ships they possess though. We will require knowledge of command infrastructure, key military positions and strengths, and more importantly the general knowledge of the character of these humans as an enemy. We require, first-hand intelligence and observation. Fortunately- as you pointed out, Jekketh- with millions of norghil imbedded in the human culture for some time now, we have an abundant source. We only need a bridge to retrieve the information we seek."

"Forward observers?", Jekketh asked, confirming the point to which Krymina was clearly leading and which he had advocated only moments earlier.

"Forward observers.", Krymina affirmed.

"Functionaries.", Krymina continued, "Operatives. They will learn from the norghil who have been forced to adapt to the human way of life the factors and complexities that we did not know that we did not know. They will gather intelligence on that level, find exploitable weaknesses, and perform operations as called upon. We are Te'Dak Tohl and we do not operate blind."

"I have every intention of knowing the humans better than they know themselves before a single shot is fired. We will then snatch The Battle Fortress from their possession and crush both they and Breetai in the same motion. The Masters will arrive to find a charred planet. –Or, as is more likely, our reconnaissance force will ride out and observe the conflict between The Masters and Breetai, relaying critical intelligence in anticipation of our arrival."

"Regardless of the scenario, their responsibilities will be the same."

"Who is to perform this function?", Jekketh asked.

"Selections for the assignment are being made as we speak.", Krymina assured her staff, "The mission is being put into able hands-."

Krymina's calculated selection of words and the absence of Action Commander Kevtok at the table made Jekketh strongly suspect that the supreme general was alluding to Serhot-Ran. Jekketh began to brood darkly that he would have to build his planning on intelligence sent directly to Krymina and filtered down to him, but this was not a battle worth the energy that would be required to fight it.

Jekketh allowed it to pass. His distinguishing moments were still ahead and not inseparably linked to this activity.

"-Let us address more immediate concerns.", Krymina continued, ending discussions on the observation group even if there were still concerns from below her in the chain.

"As you were directed prior to our purging of the norghil from their vessels and The Factory, you have all assembled lists of officers in your units who are prime candidates for commands of their own. As we will be supplementing our forces shortly with newly Awakened norghil, these officers and newly formed commands will be the backbone of our control over the enlarged force of our army. Te'Dak Tohl officers leading, norghil junior officers and warriors as crews following-. Improved norghil, I hasten to add."

"Darius will now provide some of the higher level details."

Darius rose from his seat, the attention of a room full of giants centering on his comparatively small form atop the Supreme General's briefing table. Some of the hostility toward the Tirolian and his colleague that had quietly swelled just below the surface of previous assemblies had dissipated. Possibly it was the pragmatic nature of the Zentraedi who began to grudgingly recognize the value of the aliens in their midst as slowly the Tirolians began to deliver the material products of their grand promises. Every officer at the table, as well as every warrior in their command was now regularly receiving and self-administering treatment to counter The Withering and without signs of ill effect.

There was recognition of the chance that the Tirolians were of and would continue to be of great use to the Te'Dak Tohl.

Darius sensed this as he waited for attention to focus on him with the patience and poise found in great actors who dominated from the stage. Like great actors also, Darius was aware of the division between the dramatic craft and reality. His being and intentions dissolved into the character created for his audience, and to this point they seemed to be increasingly absorbed by the illusion Darius was creating for them.

"As you are all aware", Darius began, "all Zentraedi, as well as Tirolian clones generated for military service in the armies of The Robotech Masters, are given basic knowledge and skill sets prior to their Awakening by way of psycho-transferal implants. Language, technical knowledge, combat and military specialty skill sets can be provided to the clone before they draw their first breath- along with whatever other peripheral knowledge is deemed necessary."

"By order of Supreme General Krymina, the available supply of norghil warriors in stasis aboard The Factory is being provided with the advanced combat skill sets given to all Te'Dak Tohl warriors- making their performance in combat equal to that which you would expect from a warrior of your own caste of the same maturity."

Muffled sounds of discontent could be heard at the suggestion of equality on any level between Te'Dak Tohl and norghil. Darius's skilled mitigation of The Withering lent him credibility and blunted the contempt he would have received only days before, but his claim still smacked too much of insult to go without response.

A stern look from Supreme General Krymina after a moment's disturbance quieted the table instantly.

Darius continued, "In addition to enhanced combat skills, the new warriors will possess the same levels of technical proficiency required to operate effectively in Te'Dak Tohl units. We are providing them with the strengths that you have come to rely upon as a common tool in your execution of duty."

"That is not enough though. We must also remove the weaknesses that plagued Breetai's forces during his operations against the humans. The rigidly enforced doctrine of segregating the genders within the warrior caste proved to be a liability to the warriors under Breetai's command as they were subjected to prolonged exposure to the alien culture where no such division existed. Also, their ignorance of non-military cultures proved to be a subversive element that severely inhibited combat effectiveness. Your new army will be hardened against these distractions through a rudimentary understanding of these elements of non-military culture which must be reinforced by allowing them the same basic privileges allowed to Te'Dak Tohl."

"To be blunt, if you expect them to perform like your warriors, you must treat them like your warriors."

Krymina could see the growing concern in the faces around the table. Disquieting as the notion of norghil as equals was, the prospect of actively treating them as such was far more troubling.

"Your concerns are noted", Krymina told her officers, "and not unjustified. The fact is this- we cannot assemble an adequate force of Te'Dak Tohl within the required allowance of time. The norghil will still be programmed with the proper fear and respect for us and discipline along these lines will be enforced rigidly and uniformly."

"So long as fraternization between our officers and the norghil serving below them is minimized, authority and control will not be an issue. Your armies are to increase in size between sixty and seventy-five percent because of this supplementation, and we will use these norghil as norghil. Engagement in battle will keep them focused on their purpose for being. Attrition with gradual but constant replacement by Te'Dak Tohl warriors as they become available will resolve the possible complications of mixing the castes in time."

Murhan-Thade 4

A boulder smoothed by ages of wind and that was relatively level on top made an excellent observation perch for Lieutenant Hedra and Sub-Lieutenant Koso who were employing it to its fullest potential. Both warriors, freed from the confines of their respective mecha, peered southwest over the rocky line that defined the perimeter edge that they had been charged to hold with their unit.

From the direction to which they looked a smudge of dirty red-brown seemed to rise from the open field, obscuring a patch of the horizon and marring the sickly yellow sky above with an eastward drift of the wind.

The visible signs of a small mechanized force in motion had been visible for some minutes now, growing ever larger and persistently closer. Now though, dark shapes, no more then flecks of gray, could be seen to appear and vanish within the rust-colored dust storm raised by rapidly advancing feet.

"How many do you think?", Koso asked.

Hedra, who had swung the optics visor of his combat helmet over the faceplate to make use of the enhancement system, replied, "No more than thirty or forty I'd say."

Koso, irritated by his friend's uninspiring response snapped his own optics visor down. He zoomed in quickly on the dust cloud and found that the magnification alone did little to assist him in answering his question. Koso, at the press a button at the side of the helmet, switched to the infra red portion of the viewing spectrum and found within the cloud of dust a column of mecha- the leading of which were female Queadlunn-Rau combat suits.

Hedra's observation had been a good estimate of the number, but had missed the larger point of identifying the approaching force. With tensions rising, the approach of females to the male-dominated Action Group 442 presented the real possibility of conflict if either party were to act unwisely.

"Well, this might not be as bad as it looks.", Hedra said, "Ritzal is riding out to meet them."

"Or if it is as bad-", Koso replied, "Ritzal will be the first to know."

"That's a change.", Hedra observed, "Do you think I could get another promotion out of it?"

"Not if Fate still favors me.", Koso said as he watched a single Glaug Officer's Combat Pod and a supporting Regult Tactical Scout trot out from their position to meet the new arrivals.

Sub-Commander Ritzal felt the flesh over his spine creep as the leading squadron of Queadlunn-Rau clad Quadranos closed with him to a range where had they been out of their respective machines they could have spoken directly to one another without difficulty.

Ritzal's apprehension was not at the proximity to the females, nor was it the fact that he and the Regult Scout venturing out to meet them were woefully outnumbered and outgunned- it was the uncertainty of what would happen next. This was not to say that Ritzal expected the meeting to deteriorate into violence- the Quadranos while outnumbering he and his companion were vastly outnumbered by elements of Action Group 442 that lingered behind in cover and observed. No, it would not come to immediate violence.

It was the promise of violence on a larger scale that concerned Ritzal. Not knowing the intention of the Quadranos that now stood before him and not knowing how many in number they had left behind, Ritzal could think of a thousand ways that a conversation could go seriously wrong and then of the severe consequences that could follow.

These were just dark thoughts though, and easily understood given the overall situation of the Zentraedi on Murhan-Thade 4.

Standing as much as machines could to being "nose to nose", the lead Queadlunn-Rau and the Glaug appeared to be squaring off in challenge to one another, neither willing to to surrender even a half-step. The silence was more troubling to Ritzal, and it seemed interminable until he realized that the markings on the outside of his pod identified him falsely as a lieutenant.

Quadranos, being elite warriors as they were, sometimes demanded a level of courtesy from warriors who were of the same rank that negated the possibility of using the term "peers" easily. This was only some Quadranos, of course- and Ritzal hoped he was not to have to deal with one of that variety.

"Identify yourself.", said the female officer, her face appearing in a communication link screen on Ritzal's main viewer.

"I am Sub-Commander Ritzal, commanding officer of the mechanized and light infantry contingent attached to Destroyer 741 of the 4234th Destroyer Squadron."

The female, whose narrowly spaced eyes bore into Ritzal even through the buffering of the com-link, said sharply, "The badges of rank on your Glaug and your uniform are both that of a lieutenant-."

"I understand how this appears, but you have my word as a Warrior that I am indeed a sub-commander.", Ritzal said, and then adding based on a suspicion that came from the way the Quadrano carried herself, "-As I believe your badge of rank reports you falsely as well. My name is Ritzal."

"Tuissant- Point Lieutenant Tuissant, Sub-Commander.", the Quadrano replied, studying Ritzal carefully.

"-Point Lieutenant Tuissant. I was ordered by my superior to disguise myself as a lieutenant in order to be able to join my warriors in this operation in the event that-. Well, in case we found ourselves in a position something like the one we are in now. I know that you must be looking for the supply dump that was supposed to be at this location. As you can see, there is nothing."

"I have seen.", Tuissant agreed, her tone of voice still incredulous, but not unreasonable, "Your unit has taken a defensive posture. Why do this if nothing is here?"

"My unit, and the bulk of the mixed unit that the Te'Dak Tohl had assigned us to.", Ritzal affirmed, "I'm hoping to meet up with other units and to shelter here- share our resources until help arrives. The defensive measures are purely a precaution. We have Quadranos with us as well. If you don't believe me in anything I have said, you can speak to them and they will confirm what I have told you."

"Quadranos?", Tuissant repeated sounding immediately and more deeply interested, "I would indeed like to meet them. Like you, I joined the deployment without Te'Dak Tohl knowledge of my true rank. I too had concern for my warriors. Unfortunately, unlike you I was not able to embark on the same transport as the bulk of my Quadranos- they were spread thinly amongst many composite units, you see."

"Have you been able to rally with them since landing?", Ritzal asked, imagining the frustration he would have felt if he had been forced to locate his unit a platoon at a time in the expansive operational area.

"Some-.", Tuissant said solemnly, motioning to the Quadranos that joined her in coming out to meet Ritzal, "Others I have not. Part of my reasoning in coming to this place was that they too would gravitate toward a supply area. I don't suppose you have encountered other Quadranos?"

"Only the ones imbedded in our action group, and yourself.", Ritzal said, allowing sincerity to come through in the apologetic tone of his voice.

"Well, they still may.", Tuissant resolved.

Tuissant's expression softened slightly. Ritzal felt she still held some suspicions to what he had said to her, but at the same time he would have been disappointed in her as a commander if she did not. At least it was clear that they would not be shooting at one another. Tuissant was coming across as reasonable, and if she could be worked with she was an asset in Ritzal's mind.

She was also a fellow warrior marooned on the same barren world and in the same dire need of rescue. This somehow made the gender and class of warrior issues seem irrelevant, as indeed they were on Murhan-Thade 4

"You spoke of help-.", Tuissant said, indicating that she too was considering the benefits of alliance, "You have reason to expect it?"

"Only that I know my commander.", Ritzal said knowing that there was no way to convey the confidence he felt in the words to the Quadrano, Tuissant.

"That's a chance.", Tuissant agreed, "And a chance, even a slim one is better than none."

"Your level-headedness is reassuring in this place, Point Lieuteant."

"I would not count on many being as level-headed as I am.", Tuissant warned, "The mood at the landing zones was getting unstable- which is also partially why we left. There was no order there and too many making the first moves towards establishing it for themselves. Returning would be a mistake."

"Then we will come up with another option.", Ritzal said.

"Venturing far from here will not be easy either.", Tuissant pointed out, "Our mechanized warriors are still comfortably provisioned- but I assume that your infantry like mine have used up a noticeable amount of their air supply in just reaching this point."

"They have.", Ritzal admitted, "But let's not speak in the open for too long. If what you've said is true, we could be open to the observation of less scrupulous elements than ourselves."

"Agreed.", Tuissant concurred, "Then I take it you are inviting us into your position?"

"I am."

"May I call up the others I have assumed command over?", Tuissant requested.

"At your leisure."

To the southwest, interested eyes kept watch.

A single Regult Scout Pod in the company of a detached combat squad of Regults had shadowed the progress of the Quadranos to the supply dump area. With their radars off and using the broken terrain that lay south of the larger force's path, it had been fairly easy for the recon squad to parallel their course.

They had watched as a Glaug and a Regult Scout had come out to meet them and had managed to isolate the communications frequency on which they were speaking in time to hear the tail-end of the commanders' brief exchange.

The mixed group of males and females was now returning north back to the high terrain that the male officer had alluded to as shelter.

The pilot of the Regult Scout wanted badly to break his radio silence to report his observations to his own commander, but training and prudence prevailed.

Night was approaching quickly and soon would fall. Under its cover they could withdraw stealthily and without raising alarm in those being observed.

Artoc

"I have done as you ordered, Lord.", Action Commander Kevtok reported as he settled into the chair across the briefing table from Sub-General Caldettas by his invitation, "I have solicited volunteers for your special assignment from among my best Serhot-Ran, and though I was unable to give them any details- I was forced to turn more away than I could count. At the risk of sounding impatient, Lord- can you tell me now what the mission is to be?"

Kevtok had found that it was an unsettling character trait of the Sub-General Caldettas that he could be engaged in a conversation, and at the same time be withdrawn as if watching from a distance at the same time. It gave the other party the unnerving feeling that there was always something more to an exchange than what transpired on the surface.

Kevtok was further concerned that he had little choice in the matter but to accept whatever the special assignment entailed.

Certainly, Caldettas had approached Kevtok posing the assignment as an option. The reality was that coming from the executive officer of the army, which in fact meant it came from Supreme General Krymina herself, the "option" of an assignment was something less than optional.

Volunteerism was a mere technicality.

Still, Kevtok did not suffer from blinding warrior's modesty- he knew that he and his warriors were valued by the supreme general and would not be wasted frivolously. That being the case, Kevtok was confident that the assignment had to be one of value and significance to the prosecution of the campaign against The Masters.

"A dangerous one, to be sure.", Caldettas said plainly, "But a critical one to our operations. The primary objectives are surveillance and observation, deep within enemy territory, with a high probability of directed or independent covert actions to be carried out to achieve goals that will be established shortly."

The Tirolian scientist, Darius, whose presence at the discussion of a purely military matter was unorthodox also told Kevtok that the mission he was all but committed to now was to be as irregular as it was dangerous.

"Yes, Lord.", Kevtok replied, "My duty is to serve. What am I to do?"

"You will lead a forward observation and operations group to the world of the aliens who possess Zor's Battle Fortress.", Caldettas replied.

"Humans.", Darius said opting, as his life's work leant him to, for the specific over the generic use of the title alien.

"Yes, human, of course.", complied Caldettas- the word still feeling frail and awkward on the tongue, "Your role will be to provide for command over a number of intelligence and reconnaissance activities. As such, in addition to a team of warriors that you have selected already, you will have charge over a number of intelligence officers and specialists. They will perform most of the actual work. You and your team will be responsible for protection, security, oversight, and covert actions as I alluded to earlier."

Kevtok nodded as it was explained, "I'm tempted to say that it sounds relatively simple, Lord-. What detail am I missing?"

"It isn't likely to be simple, Kevtok, you are correct.", Caldettas replied bluntly, "There will definitely be factors involved that we have not conceived of. There is also the highest likelihood that once your team is inserted, it will be forced to remain behind enemy lines until the main invasion force lands without possibility of assistance, reinforcement, or extraction. I could go on about the number of things that could go wrong, but I'm sure you'll think of most of them by yourself. The fact of the matter is that we need to assign this mission to an officer who is competent, resourceful, and self-reliant- and your name, Kevtok, was at the top of a very short list."

Kevtok said in response, "I will have to inform the team I have selected of what you have told me, Lord. We Serhot-Ran are obliged to full disclosure amongst ourselves. There will be no information leaks though, I assure you."

"As you see fit.", Caldettas allowed, "But time is not abundant. If any should withdraw from the mission-."

"They will not.", Kevtok said with supreme confidence, as though speaking of the solid nature of the deck below his feet.

Caldettas gave a nod of understanding, "Darius and I will brief you further on foundational information, mission requirements, and general intelligence as these develop. Keep your team informed to the level you see fit."

"Yes, Lord", complied Kevtok, in essence actively locking himself into the assignment now, "I will."

Murhan-Thade 4

Night had settled over the landscape, reducing the size of the world to the length of an arm by the light of the stars that shone dimly through the thin clouds of the planet's inhospitable atmosphere.

Light discipline had been imposed, forbidding the use of hand lamps and other illumination equipment except for in emergency situations. The restriction itself was of little consequence as with the aide of the light intensification optics standard to all warriors' helmets, the Zentraedi of Action Group 442 were able to see clearly by starlight.

Itself the restriction was of little consequence, but the precaution of putting it into place raised questions in the minds of the warriors that had no clear or logical answer. For instance, as light discipline was a practice of concealment- from whom was Action Group 442 concealing itself?

In the near pitch warriors had separated into groups, mostly by unit. Though many warriors carried gear for the field including standard-issue personal shelters, few were set up. Experienced warriors were aware that to pressurize a shelter required a considerable volume of air that could not be reclaimed by the mecha supporting its occupant with its life support system. Environmental body armor as worn by all warriors was uncomfortable to wear for prolonged periods of time, but provided the sustenance of air, water, and heat a warrior required to live without the wasting of precious consumables.

For this reason, and despite the first signs of fatigue brought on by the twenty-plus hours that had elapsed since any warrior had slept, none seemed inclined to commit to more than dozing in short naps.

Instead, warriors chose to sit with one another to await the day.

The question of whom Action Group 445 was concealing itself was one without clear answer- but why it should conceal itself was not.

First spotted with the onset of twilight, sporadic but intense flashes had been seen at or over the horizon at various points of the compass. Most of the flashes corresponded to the general direction in which other supposed "supply areas" lay, though not all. While the reason was not clear, the cause of the flashes was- the visible signs of battle.

As twilight had deepened into full night savage exchanges could be marked by weapons flashes all around. Though the sounds of battle were lost to the planet's thin air the visible aspect, even from a distance, showed most of these actions to be between small groups- lacking the duration of fire expected between large units.

It was disorganized skirmishing that the posted sentries about Action Group 442's position and the independently interested warriors were witness to. Disturbing to all though was that with the apparent lack of Invid on Murhan-Thade 4, the skirmishing was between Zentraedi.

In a troubling way, the question of who Action Group 442 was concealing from was clear to all. They were concealing from other Zentraedi.

Marosa stood atop a rocky outcropping above the combined encampment of Vala and her squadrons- as much as it could be called an encampment. The lieutenant had elected to leave her Queadlunn-Rau combat suit for the comparatively insubstantial protection of her pressurized flight suit. A small environmental support pack that could be recharged from the armor suit allowed the pilot to venture free of it for short periods of time, and Marosa had needed to escape the machine's confines if for no other reason than to stretch stiffening muscles and joints.

For the first time, Marosa could feel the cold and the wind of the world on which she found herself despite the insulating layers of the flight suit. Despite her new perception of the planet's malevolent, or at best indifferent, environment Marosa found some comfort in being free of the Queadlunn-Rau.

Designed for protection and combat effectiveness over any distantly second considerations of comfort, a combat suit could become a source of great discomfort without the distractions of battle to occupy the pilot's mind. Marosa did not look forward to sleeping in her Queadlunn-Rau as she would certainly have to, but discomfort was preferable to death.

For now she was free though and could feel fatigued muscles beginning to loosen.

"Someone is having quite a time of it."

Marosa started, having lost herself to her own thoughts before Vala's voice brought her back to her surroundings. Marosa half-turned to see her friend standing two paces behind her. Another figure stood with Vala, also a Quadrano by the configuration of her flight suit whose details were lost to the darkness. Only by the light of a distant explosive flash did Marosa realize that it was Etmal from her squadron.

"Looks that way.", Marosa said heavily as somewhere below the horizon a series of explosions lit the lower regions of the sky in a localized area to the north.

"I wonder what started it?", Etmal asked, not truly expecting an answer. More surprising to Marosa and Vala was that Etmal did not have a reason prepared for sharing.

"Doesn't really matter.", resolved Vala, "We came here to fight, didn't we?"

"I had this feeling-.", Etmal said quietly and with muted triumph, "-The moment we knew they were Te'Dak Tohl, I had this feeling-."

Like a reflex, Marosa found herself wanting to silence Etmal- by stern word if necessary, rather than hear her recollection of dire predictions- but she didn't. Etmal, despite many false prophecies of doom in the past had been on the center mark this time. Marosa did not fault herself for not heeding Etmal's warnings, but circumstances as they were she was not in a position where she could chastise Etmal in good conscience either.

Furthermore, now was not a time to strain the bonds of friendship or weaken the links of the command chain for inconsequential reasons. Marosa recognized that the warriors that she had around her and the supplies she carried with her were all she had to sustain her. Nothing could be squandered- not even good will between her subordinates and herself.

A word came to Marosa's mind at that moment- a word that had been used by the Te'Dak Tohl sentries in the hangar aboard the transport to refer to her and Etmal.

Norghil.

Expendible.

Worthless.

Offensive in its use, the word now had larger teeth that had set fast into Marosa's sense of self. The word had grown teeth because the Te'Dak Tohl had shown it to be more than a lewd slur, but a statement of true belief.

Marosa's stomach grumbled loudly and without warning.

How long had it been since she had taken time to eat? How long had it been since she had actually felt hungry?

Confrontation with a physical need allowed her to easily veer off the path of distasteful thoughts she had found herself beginning to travel down. More importantly it gave her a point with which to reconnect with her squadron. Reminding them to take care of themselves would make it easier for them to take care of each other.

A meal would not resolve everything, but it would help in keeping attitudes on the side of positive and that was a good start.

Of course, even in the act of ordering her squadron to eat there were considerations that Marosa had to take into account.

"Etmal-."

"Yes?", Etmal replied expectantly. Her tone was as close to actually leaping at an opportunity to apply herself as Etmal could come without physical movement. Apparently she needed something to preoccupy her mind as much as Marosa, and knowing Etmal- probably more.

"Go down to the squadron and order them to eat something if they haven't already. If the fighting should come in this direction, there's no telling when we'll have a quiet moment again."

"Will do.", Etmal complied before turning to carry out the simple order.

Marosa halted her, adding, "Let them know we go to half rations tomorrow- to conserve. Tonight though, I want them to eat and get rest."

"I'll put out the word.", Etmal assured her, and knowing Etmal's penchant for communication, Marosa knew she would.

Marosa glanced out at the distant battle again as Etmal left Vala and she alone. The fight seemed closer now though the play of the light in the otherwise deep darkness had a way of tricking the eye she knew.

Vala moved forward, standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Marosa, also witness to the horribly beautiful display that seemed just over the horizon.

"Stretch our consumables, eh?", Vala asked, skepticism creeping into her voice.

"Unless you know where we can pick up more.", Marosa replied.

"I think maybe that's what that fight is about.", Vala speculated, "And if it isn't now, it will be soon."

Marosa shook her head in disgust, "I'm glad I've got no part in it."

Vala's voice was heavy as she said, "Don't be so sure. Sooner or later, it's likely to find us-. -If it isn't here already."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that yesterday I don't think that any of them thought that they'd be at each other. I don't want to think it could happen here, but-."

Marosa turned to look Vala squarely in the face, "Neither my squadron nor I will raise a finger against another Zentraedi, Vala. I make my oath on that as a warrior and as a Quadrano."

"Not even in self-defense against those who might not be as quick to make that same oath?"

"That's different."

"That's also how it begins.", Vala pointed out and then nodding toward the distant fight, added, "That's how that probably began too."

"I don't know.", Marosa admitted, "And I don't want to think about it right now."

Light danced in soft-edged patches over the western horizon again, burst answering burst in quick reply as the fight raged between unseen and unknown parties.

"I wonder what oaths were traded out there?", Vala asked rhetorically and as such was answered by silence.

"Lieutenant, do you think they will find their way here?", Warrior 3rd Grade Ulstik asked with a controlled edge of apprehension to his voice that told the platoon lieutenant and his top sub-lieutenant that the new addition to the platoon was passing the stage of ignorant fearlessness common to newly Awakened warriors and gaining actual combat savvy.

Hedra passed his high-powered field glasses to Koso who like his superior used them to scan the western horizon. Though more powerful and capable than the standard optics systems built into a warrior's helmet, the field glasses regularly given to unit commanders still were unable to help Koso make any more sense of the fight they were witness too. After only a few moments he handed the glasses back to Hedra.

"Fate pity them if they do.", Hedra said without the sentiment to back the words he had spoken, "This is good ground, highly defensible. We have a full fighter group to support us-. Any warrior with half his wits about him will avoid that kind of fight. Right, Koso?"

Koso watched the fluctuating curtains of white light that seemed to ascend to the sky like eruptions of an unseen volcano and was not certain how many warriors had their wits about them on this night.

How many more would lose them by morning?

Desperation was a lot like a virus. One did not need to be exposed to a great quantity of it for it to spread. Like a virus also, it could spread quickly through the ranks and with devastating effects.

Koso looked around to find that most of the platoon had joined their lieutenant. He also realized that he could not place names to half of the new faces, but the expressions of all said that they knew him and were looking for reassurance.

Koso was not about to deprive them of that in the face of shortages in every other commodity.

"Absolutely."

Koso grew immediately concerned as relief crept across the faces of the warriors whom he addressed. Koso worried that Hedra would see the benefits of those reassuring words and try to build on it to excess. Moderation was a trait not strong in the lieutenant. Koso worried that his own doubts would show in his face, betraying the hollowness of his words.

Fate spared Koso both possibilities as a disturbance in the dark caused a ripple in the assembled platoon from which three warriors emerged. They were not attached to the platoon but bore insignia on their armor marking them as a part of the greater ground forces belonging to Destroyer 741.

"Lieutenant", said the ranking warrior of the three, a 1st Grade, "We're dispatched to pass on the word by mouth from Sub-Commander Ritzal. All warriors are to settle in and learn this position. We're to conserve our supplies and wait. The Commander is coming for us, and we only need hold out."

Hedra looked the three messengers over suspiciously for a moment, but the possibility of uplifting news was too great and too important to dismiss.

"Any word as to when?"

"We weren't told.", replied the warrior who spoke for the three, "Only that warriors should conserve their air, food, and water as much as possible."

"I wish we had known before we had eaten tonight.", Hedra replied abrasively, recalling encouragement he had given to his warriors to sustain their strength through nourishment only hours before.

The warrior shrugged apologetically, "Pardon me, Lieutenant, we've been making our way through the ranks as quickly as possible."

"Go then.", Hedra said, "Pass on the word."

Without another word the three warriors continued on their way leaving Hedra and Koso to contain the rising expectations of their platoon.

"Koso", Hedra instructed, "The order is conservation. See that your warriors obey it."

"I will.", agreed Koso, "This also means setting up rotations for watch and relief. I'll volunteer third and fourth squads for first watch."

"No", said Hedra, "Settle them down, and yourself too. First and second will stand watch with me. We'll set an abbreviated three hour watch schedule. You will oversee the second. That should take us through sunrise. Get rest, all of you. We should be ashamed to not be in good condition for our rescue."

"I don't have any doubt that Pach is on his way", Sub-Commander Kranna admitted, "I'm just wondering if we'll be here when he arrives. This is what our patrols have shown us-."

Sub-Commander Ritzal sat in the cockpit of his Glaug Officer's Combat Pod, the canopy opened to allow Ritzal and the most recent addition and newest ally, Point Lieutenant Tuissant to sit on the cockpit rim to either side. Normally the interior of the Glaug felt spacious in comparison to the cramped space of a standard Regult, but with a warrior to either side leaning in to participate in the clumsy, ad-hoc briefing, Ritzal felt constricted.

"We picked up small units first- originating from the west moving just inside of ground-based sensor range from us.", Kranna explained as he pointed and demonstrated with the assistance of a finger and Ritzal's map display, "They hugged that perimeter and swung around to our south, while a smaller detachment swung around to our north."

"We then had a fairly large unit, about three companies' strength move into the broken highlands to the north of us and disperse. After that, we saw squad level units emerge and begin to skirt sensor range around our position. They're probing us, don't you see?"

Ritzal gently knocked his head in his helmet against the headrest at the top of his chair in an attempt to coax out the thoughts of the appropriate course of action. He had no reason to argue with Kranna, the Gnerl pilot was correct- they were being probed.

The question that remained was by whom, and more importantly- how many would follow?

"Can you persuade them to withdraw?", Ritzal asked the other sub-commander.

"Persuade, encourage, or remove. What's your pleasure?"

Ritzal grimaced, "Normally, I'd say that I don't want to instigate trouble- not with the probability that we're going to have to survive on what we're carrying for at least a few days-. I think instigation is a moot point though."

"I agree.", Tuissant said, "Trouble is seeking us, not the other way around. We should begin to affect a pro-active defense before inactivity becomes an invitation to a siege. Immobilized here, our options are greatly reduced. If we take the initiative and give this other force a good shove- we could make them think twice about- well, about whatever it is they're thinking of doing."

Kranna nodded in concurrence with his female comrade, "Point Lieutenant Tuissant is right, Ritzal. Right now they're looking for weaknesses in our lines, avenues to move their own units by cover of the terrain-. Let's not give them the opportunity."

Ritzal hesitated, "We're not even sure who we're talking about."

Ritzal was fully aware as he spoke that the particulars of who were unimportant. He knew he was seeing the foundations of an assault on his position forming up. As sure as if it were Invid attacking, Ritzal knew he was going to have to take defensive measures or risk being overrun.

These were not Invid though, and while on a tactical level it made no difference- they were Zentraedi and it made the decision to act more difficult.

Ritzal had no fear about being able to act aggressively if necessary- but he would not until he had to.

Tuissant, sensing Ritzal's understandable reservations was quick to cite recent events she had experienced, "Yesterday, as we were withdrawing from our assembly area, our action group had begun to dissolve and reform along lines of army affiliation. General Alzyha's warriors coming together here and there in numbers, the same for General Bohan's forces. No shooting had begun, but it was clearly going that way."

"And you didn't try to link up with a unit from General Bohan's army?", Kranna asked, voicing a curiosity that had lingered with him since Ritzal had invited the Quadranos into their midst hours before.

"No.", Tuissant replied without a second thought, "There was not enough of what was needed there, namely supplies- and too much of what was not needed, particularly lack of clear command and far too much suspicion. I took those who I could convince and manage, and we came here. You know the rest."

"Well", Kranna said, his curiosity satisfied for the time being, "the Point Lieutenant is correct about the break-up of structure. The best I've been able to tell from talking to our patrols is that the main force that landed yesterday seems to have broken up into at least four, maybe as many as six separate concentrations. All seem to be hacking away at one another where they come into contact. It's a mess."

"And it's only a matter of time before one or more of them decide to come this way.", Tuissant pointed out, "The probes we've been experiencing are proof that the thought has already crossed someone's mind."

Ritzal took in the argument without comment.

"Though-.", Kranna said, reaching to the display controls on the Glaug's main console, "There is another option to digging in here for a fight."

The map on the console display tracked east and then north until the position that the action group now held was almost out of the screen. The map now centered on rugged highlands that were only accessible from the west by means of a southerly route. A maze of canyons both broad and deep formed a natural barrier to the highlands to the west, and ranged farther north than the map could show in a single frame.

"We could pick up and move.", Kranna suggested, "Relocate to a position where anyone who wants to have a run at us will have to travel out of their way to do it."

Ritzal shook his head and dismissed the suggestion immediately, "No, look at that, Kranna. That's got to be a hundred and thirty, a hundred and fifty artohls. Almost thirty percent of our warriors, and at least that many of Point Lieutenant Tuissant's are on foot with respirator packs. The trip would likely exhaust most of their remaining air."

Kranna cocked his head to one side, "I've thought of that. Consider this though, Ritzal. You, I- all of us- we've fought battles where we've incurred casualties in excess of fifty percent. Sacrificing thirty to save seventy is a light loss by comparison."

"You're not talking about battle casualties though, Kranna.", Ritzal reminded him, "You're talking about either marching them to death or leaving them here to fend for themselves. I won't go the way of the Te'Dak Tohl so quickly."

"I didn't mean that-.", Kranna said bitterly.

Ritzal paused realizing the words had come out more harsh than what he had intended, "I know- I didn't mean to imply-. But I would sooner have my warriors die in battle than choke to death on stale air. I say we make the best of the ground and resources we have here. And it would seem that means dealing with those probe units first."

Kranna's face brightened somewhat, "That's reassuring- I was wondering when you were going to issue an order."

Ritzal glowered at the prod from his fellow officer, but let it roll off of him.

"Normally I'd say that we pick them out of the rocks with air strikes- but I want the bulk of your fighter group to be fresh and amply supplied in case something grander should be needed from them in the near future."

"That leaves ground action", Tuissant said, sounding strangely enthusiastic at the prospect, "Quadranos are well suited for this kind of action. I will volunteer squadrons from my unit."

Ritzal knew that Tuissant was correct. Quadranos in their Queadlunn-Rau combat suits were far better equipped to meet mecha at close quarters than most of the units he had at his disposal. Still, Ritzal felt compelled to not force Tuissant to bear the burden alone.

"Kranna, you will select a squadron to provide air cover. Tuissant's Quadrano squadrons will eliminate the probing units, and I will provide Regults to establish a perimeter for the action and provide support. Agreed?"

Tuissant nodded, "That is acceptable. My Quadranos should be able to clear them out, provided we don't loose momentum or get bogged down. Truthfully, I could use more Quadranos. You said you had some imbedded in this Action Group?"

Ritzal glanced at Kranna and then back at Tuissant. They had come together so hastily to review the reconnaissance from Kranna's patrol that Tuissant had been given no time to rally with the Quadranos Ritzal had spoken of and whom he had sent a squad in search of. At a quick glance, the sub-commander found that the squad had returned with two of the female officers in their company.

"Perhaps we can arrange the meeting for you-."

Ritzal motioned the squad to stand aside and allow the Quadranos forward to present themselves to Tuissant. The question of whether the three were acquainted was answered quickly and unmistakably as the expression on the faces of the officers whom the squad had brought up flashed more relief instantly than should have been possible on Murhan-Thade 4.

"Point Lieutenant Tuissant-.", said the slighter of the two Quadranos, "-Thank Zor-. You can't imagine how happy we are to see you."

Sounding equally pleased, Tuissant replied, "Marosa, Vala- actually, I can. As much as I'd like to indulge in pleasantries though, Quadranos, Sub-Commander Ritzal has a mission for us. Join us here and I will give you the details."

Destroyer 741

Commander Pach entered the ship's command center from the rear of the compartment, the passageway admitting him almost directly beneath the command bubble from which he normally presided over conduct of his vessel. Many of the control stations were staffed skeletally, set to automatic function, or simply powered down. This was now appropriately reflective of the condition throughout the ship.

Destroyer 741 was a nearly empty vessel.

Pach's appearance and movement through the midst of the junior officers on deck was perhaps the first break in the tedium experienced in many hours. As such, whether there was a tangible increase in attentiveness to duty or not, all tried to look more involved at their tasks as the commander passed their stations.

All tried to look engaged except Sub-Commander Gerrok who sat at one of the communications consoles. His efforts were genuine and his attention drifted between the three screens before him and the seemingly endless streams and combination of number strands displayed.

His fingers would move over the various controls of the console and a result on one of the screens, indecipherable to Pach, would cause Gerrok's expression to change for the lighter or darker. His posture was rigid, his feet planted firmly on the deck as though welded there, and overall Gerrok gave the impression that it would be easier to move the whole communications suite than displace him from his task.

Pach knew better than to think that Gerrok was putting on any kind of display though as Gerrok was not one to feign anything for anyone. Gerrok was also not one to abandon a task until it had been completed to his satisfaction which explained to Pach the underlying signs of fatigue in the engineer that he was making an effort to conceal.

"Almost ten hours.", Gerrok said as Pach neared him.

"What?", Pach asked having been caught off-guard by the fact that Gerrok had even noticed him- intent as he appeared to be at work.

"You were going to ask how long I've been at this.", Gerrok said not looking up from the screens, "Almost ten hours. -Or I have it wrong-."

"I would have asked eventually.", Pach said, leaning against the same station that Gerrok worked at, "I was probably going to stand and wait to see if you were going to actually drive your head through the console first."

"The thought had crossed my mind", Gerrok replied, "But then that would be one more thing to fix around here."

"Any progress?", Pach asked, "That is the memory slate you took from the dead Te'Dak Tohl?"

Gerrok shook his head, "No, and yes."

"It could be that-.", Pach began.

"It's encrypted on multiple layers.", Gerrok informed him, "That's why we couldn't crack it outright. We encrypt once, and why not? The Invid don't intercept transmissions with the intention of reading them-. This is different though- intended to keep us from poking around in Te'Dak Tohl communications I'm guessing. Crafty, very crafty. You see, I think the way it's set up is that when you break the first layer of encryption successfully; it sets the underlying information up in a way that the second variable can decrypt it, and so forth and so on for how ever many layers of encryption they want to apply to a particular file or transmission. I don't think I'm close to hitting bottom on this yet-. Of course, if you don't successfully decrypt the first layer, the second layer is gibberish."

"You've figured this all out in ten hours?"

"I've come to believe it.", Gerrok said, "I've come to know that I know very little, and that it's by the design of others. I've also come to know that I resent it- greatly. I'm finding that I want to go back and kill more Te'Dak Tohl with my bare hands."

Pach made a sound of amusement, "One can never tell, Gerrok, you might just get that chance. In the meantime-."

"You're as ready for battle as I can get you.", Gerrok said, "Do you think the Te'Dak Tohl will be waiting for us?"

Pach replied without having to apply much thought to the question, "Almost definitely. In what strength, I'm not sure-. There will be some resistance."

Gerrok paused in his task and looked to the commander, "Do you think you can fight your way in and then out again?"

Pach considered his response more carefully, "I know that I will try. Wewill try, that is."

"That doesn't fill me with overwhelming confidence.", Gerrok admitted.

"Sometimes confidence is gained as you go.", Pach suggested.

"I'll write that down somewhere.", Gerrok said smugly, "We'll pull through fine. I'm determined to crack this."

"You had that look about you.", Pach said putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Your resolve will carry us through, if nothing else. You might also consider getting some rest."

"Pach-."

"Yes?"

"That shoulder is still a little sore- do you mind?"

Pach removed his hand and left Gerrok to his self-appointed work.

He had been dismissed.

Artoc

Lieutenant Moyrt leaned forward in his chair just enough to glance quickly along the length of the row to his left and then his right. All of the faces in the briefing room were familiar- all lieutenants and sub-lieutenants- all Serhot-Ran, elite shock troops under Action Commander Kevtok's charge.

Moyrt suspected strongly that the gathering was directly related to the unusual solicitation Kevtok had made for volunteers for an upcoming, "highly irregular and dangerous" mission. Assignments of that general description were not uncommon for Serhot-Ran, nor was the way in which Kevtok had gone about enlisting his "volunteers"- face-to-face as he had with Moyrt. What was unusual was that missions of that kind normally involved little more if any than a squad's number of the right warriors. Here, the equivalent of a platoon was assembled to be briefed- presumably.

Moyrt, sitting next to his platoon's first sub-lieutenant, Askad, quickly began to believe that the description of this mission as "irregular and dangerous" might be more warranted than other special assignments.

Regardless of the projected hazards of the mission which Moyrt was becoming increasingly curious about, he had remained faithful to the Serhot-Ran tradition of active volunteerism for any assignment and intended to adhere to the tradition of never backing away from the act of volunteering. He was committed and in for the duration now.

Whatever that entailed.

Far down to the left end of the row of seats, the face of Lt. Hyra appeared, leaning forward much as Moyrt was to take in her company. Moyrt was unsurprised to see Hyra here, and even relieved. He had seen action with all present, but having Hyra's participation was an added comfort.

Her eyes met Moyrt's, and she silently mouthed the question that Moyrt himself was pondering.

Moyrt shrugged.

Unsatisfied by the response, Hyra rose and worked her way along the row of fixed chairs to the seat directly to Moyrt's left, occupied by Lt. Strula.

"You're in my seat, Strula.", Hyra informed the larger, male officer.

"And?", Strula replied to the challenge.

With lightening speed, Hyra snatched his right earlobe and gave it just enough of a twist to send a twinge of pain through the other officer's substantial form.

"And I'd hate to have to move you.", Hyra said, guiding the lieutenant to his feet by his ear.

"Fine-!", Strula ceded, stooped as he rose under Hyra's control, "Take the seat."

"Good choice", Hyra said, releasing Strula's ear and pushing him in the direction from which she had come, "Thanks for your cooperation."

Hyra dropped into the seat next to Moyrt.

"So, what's the story here?"

"You went through all of that to hear that I don't know?", Moyrt asked.

Hyra watched as Strula settled into the chair she had formerly occupied, rubbing his ear and soothing his own ego over the gibes of the officers he passed. Both would recover- there was no real malice between Serhot-Ran.

"Oh, that-. I would have done that anyway, I was getting bored."

"I've got no idea.", Moyrt said, "I was hoping that you might know."

Hyra shook her head, "I was assuming that this had something to do with a matter of some importance. Then I saw that you were here and realized that it had something to do with fouling up somehow- though I can't imagine what I did wrong."

"You're unusually abrasive today.", Moyrt pointed out.

"It was that purge.", Hyra replied, "It brought something out of me. My blood must still be up."

Action Commander Kevtok entered the briefing room carrying the Tirolian, Darius, in the palm of his hand. As he entered, the assembly of officers rose and stood to attention. Kevtok lowered his hand to the table at the head of the chamber as he passed it, allowing Darius to step off. Kevtok then turned to face his subordinates and gestured them to be seated.

"We have much to cover.", Kevtok announced bluntly, "As proven, resourceful, and competent warriors you all have my gratitude for volunteering for this assignment."

"We had a choice?", Hyra whispered to Moyrt.

"No, not really."

Kevtok continued, saying to his officers and sub-officers, "I was ordered to select a group of warriors for their intelligence, self-reliance, and combat effectiveness- and after thorough consideration, I chose you. That is the good news."

"The bad news is that every aspect of your intelligence, every competency and proficiency you possess, and every fiber of your strength is going to be called upon in the mission that we have been handed by Supreme General Krymina herself. This is primarily because while the major mission objectives are clear, the manner for achieving them and the facts that we will be working from are somewhat less defined."

"The broad, main objective of our mission is to gather intelligence on the homeworld of the alien race calling themselves- human. The planet, referred to in one of the many indigenous languages we have knowledge of as- Earth, is a point of interest to us as it is the last known, and we feel still the current location of Zor's Battle Fortress. An interesting point of fact brought to my attention by Darius, in the human language to which the name, Earth, belongs- it means, dirt. So much for pride in your origin."

Sounds of amusement rewarded Kevtok. There was no point to adding stoicism to an already stressful moment. Minds slightly at ease, Kevtok found, were more plastic and conducive to absorbing what was presented to them.

Kevtok resumed his briefing, "This assignment is likely to be trying both psychologically and physically on many levels. We have a short turn-around time to prepare ourselves with the additional training that we will require, and to acquaint ourselves with new equipment. I must also inform you that due to operational considerations, we will all have to submit to the molecular reduction process. Micronization."

The assembly of officers and sub-lieutenants accepted the news silently, though the silence was a leaden one. It was an accepted fact known amongst Zentraedi, that their race's basic genetic structure was founded on that of the Tirolians, and that their enhanced size was not their natural state. The genetic manipulation that The Robotech Masters had undertaken to create a servant race of giants could by a bio-morphological process be reversed- robbing the Zentraedi of much of their size and strength.

The process was real. It was known to be possible, and it was known to have been done. The feasibility of the process did not in any way equate in the minds of the assembled to comfort with the process though.

"It will be done to us all.", Kevtok reasserted, "I will submit to the process first. Darius, will you speak to this?"

Darius, from his place on the small table at the front of the briefing room was quick to add to the action commander's assurances, "For Zentraedi, the process is no more dangerous than stasis- and will feel much the same to the subject-. -Pardon me, the warrior. You will simply go to sleep your normal size, and wake up physically reduced. The process is completely reversible. Upon restoration, you won't even require a new fitting for your uniforms."

"Micronization, though distasteful, will be necessary for us if we are to conceal ourselves and our purpose among the humans and their assimilated norghil allies. Among the last scraps of information received by The Masters regarding this alien world and its inhabitants were reports- of sorts- from Khyron, one of Breetai's more impulsive lieutenants. Amongst the rather disjointed ravings, Khyron also imparted the invaluable intelligence that the human culture was absorbing the marooned norghil to varying degrees of success. This process involved the Micronization of those Zentraedi warriors."

"This poses both a challenge and an irresistible opportunity. By assuming the identity of norghil, outwardly at least, we have the potential of accessing knowledge that the marooned norghil have accumulated over years. The challenge will be to be to tap those resources without arousing suspicion or raising alarm. I doubt that the marooned norghil, already traumatized by subjugation to these humans, would be inspired by the presence of Te'Dak Tohl in their midst. We, the warriors assembled here, will be responsible mainly for security and some combat operations as required, but we will all have contact with both the norghil and the humans. For that reason we must be able to deceive both."

"A separate intelligence-gathering team is being assembled, specially briefed and trained for that purpose.", Darius informed the security force, "But there is the possibility that you all may stumble across vital information or sources of information-."

"-The information we seek", Kevtok said, taking control of the briefing again for himself, "is anything that we can obtain concerning the specific location, condition, and operational status of Zor's Battle Fortress. No less important, we are also to ascertain, to the best of our abilities, military strengths and capabilities of the aliens as this will be a factor in the ultimate operation in seizing the Battle Fortress."

"To achieve these objectives, we will have to operate deep within alien territory. As we speak, a Transport Pod is being specifically designed for this mission to serve as both a supply base and center for operations. Where it is possible and feasible, standard issue gear will be manufactured for us to scale. Where it is not, we will make use of Tirolian equipment."

"Needless to say, either may be conspicuous in our operational environment, so there will be a degree of foraging and improvisation involved in our undertaking to maintain anonymity. Be assured though, as I have been assured that we will be provided with every conceivable advantage available to us."

"At the same time, it is also an understood risk of this mission that once deployed we will essentially be stranded with the norghil and humans until Supreme General Krymina orders the larger operation to commence. There will be no possibility of early extraction. There will be no possibility of reinforcement. We will have what we bring with us and what we can secure for ourselves."

"Most of all, we will be alone. You are all here because I have the utmost confidence in your abilities. With poise and precision in execution, and with the favor of Fate- we are aptly suited for this mission. You may have confidence in that, as I do."

Having laid down the basic concept behind the unusual mission, Kevtok made the transition to the second part of his briefing.

"You will of course receive much more detailed information on all aspects of what I have told you, both in future briefings and in prepared reports. This will include information about Earth's physical geography as well as the best information we have about the aliens. Darius will now provide a brief overview and answer general questions that you may have. Darius-."

Darius allowed Kevtok to activate the hologram presentation, similar to the one that had briefed to Supreme General Krymina's staff. The first image was of male and female human forms shown comparatively to scale next to a generic set from both the Tirolian and Zentraedi races.

"As you can see, the human alien is comparable in size and structure to Tirolians, and therefore of similar physical form to Zentraedi. This is due to a theory, circulated among the biological sciences and strongly supported by the survey of many worlds, as environmental paralleled evolution. That is to say, simply, that two similar or identical environments are capable of producing life forms of similar structure."

"While outwardly similar, automated experiments conducted on specimens both living and dead during Breetai's campaign for The Masters revealed that there are noteworthy differences between us on the genetic level. Human DNA is more prone to replication errors after fewer replication cycles, which leads to a shorter span of natural life than what is common to either Tirolians or Zentraedi. Their pulmonary, cardio-vascular, as well as their endocrine systems are simpler, less efficient, and more susceptable to deterioration than ours- and oddly enough, their hemoglobin is based on iron rather than the more efficient copper of ours. Red blood- that must be an unusual sight."

"Still, the humans are a ninety-nine point six genetic match to the Tirolian genetic pattern, whereas Zentraedi are a ninety-nine point nine-three match. Close enough to cross-breed with the likelihood of reproductively viable offspring, should they wish."

"Unevolved as the human race is genetically, their technological sophistication is even more so. Prior to the arrival of Zor's Battle Fortress they had only reached basic nuclear and space-going technologies. Culturally, their society was and to the best information we have still is actually hundreds, if not thousands of individual cultures- they not having reached a level of social homogenization yet."

"Unfortunately, as Action Commander Kevtok intimated earlier, we have solid knowledge of only a few of their languages, and even less of their cultures as Breetai was ill-equipped to observe and report on such matters."

"Let us then begin with the common traits that we are aware of. The human culture is divided into both military and non-military sub-cultures, co-existing and sharing the same resources-…"

Murhan-Thade 4

Dust raised by the movement of 1st and 2nd squads partially obscured Sub-Lieutenant Koso's view as he led the 3rd and 4th squads of the platoon in the lead position.

Even running at full speed, the Regult Pods maintained a perfect tactical advance formation. Each squad, eight mecha strong, ran a staggered line slanting away from the point position. 1st Squad, led by Hedra in his distinctive Glaug Combat Pod unique in the platoon to the commander, was followed by 2nd. Whereas 1st Squad slanted off from their leader to the right, the 2nd trailing at ten running paces slanted left providing for a broad sweep of fire as the platoon advanced.

3rd and 4th Squads under Koso's immediate command followed at a greater distance but in similar formation. Maximum application of fire on the advance could be achieved in this way while minimizing the risks inherit to denser formations.

It seemed to Koso that there should be no casualties in this engagement.

It felt more like any of countless mock-combat exercises Koso had participated in- only it had been made perfectly clear by Sub-Commander Ritzal that this was not to be practice.

In a training exercise, the opposing force of warriors simulated an Invid threat and were "dispatched" with harmless blasts from energy weapons fired at the lowest functional setting. These warriors that Hedra's platoon now rode out to find and engage were the threat every bit as real as The Invid and would be treated as such.

Koso had thought only briefly about the prospect- the certainty- that soon he would be actively killing other Zentraedi warriors. Investing too much thought in it seemed a waste of time to Koso as it was an unpleasant task that regrettably had to be done. Were they not positioning themselves to do the same to him? To his unit?

Still, they were Zentraedi warriors and Koso had given it some thought. It would not be gratifying to kill another warrior caste Zentraedi the way it would be to kill a Te'Dak Tohl warrior, but Koso had no doubt to his ability to fire first and fire true. This was just another Warrior's burden- one imposed upon him unnecessarily by others.

Koso made peace with the issue and set it aside by vowing quietly that if he survived he would avenge those whom he was being forced to slay. Te'Dak Tohl would answer for this if he was given a say in the matter.

"Left flank, detach and follow me into covering position.", Hedra ordered down the chain to his subordinates.

The platoon followed their lieutenant's lead, veering away from the two platoons that made the center of the advance. Far to the right of what was essentially a reduced company, the right flanking platoon conducted a similar maneuver.

Considering that the probing force that they were attempting to locate and engage had been briefed to the detachment of Action Group 442 as likely being no larger than a squad or two in numbers, the application of so much force could have been interpreted as being excessive. Sub-Commander Ritzal had justified it as a "meaningful display of force".

The center of the force was intended to do the great share of the distasteful work implied in the assignment; driving into the broken terrain that the probing force was believed to be covering in and observing from- and eliminating whatever force was found there. The left and right flanks were merely there to prevent the escape of the probing force, or its movement onto the vulnerable sides of the center force.

So the plan said.

Koso knew better.

Unlike the new warriors in his unit who had shown clear relief when they had been briefed on their part of the mission, Koso knew what they had not learned yet. Particularly he knew that the larger center force as it moved on the probe's position would be cornering them, and a cornered adversary was the most dangerous kind. Even a small unit forced into desperate action could be a fearsome and disproportionately destructive thing.

If they chose to fight their way to escape in the direction of Hedra's platoon, Koso knew that the probe would be moving from cover and firing upon a force that was completely in the open.

Of course, they could as easily go right-.

There was also the possibility that the probing force was seeing the approach of the composite company and would elect to simply collapse back through their own position in hopes of making an escape to their rear. The commander of the probe force could be holding out hope that if he or she escaped to their rear, they might be able to break away or at least discourage a confrontation with a sprint from the area.

In this event, Ritzal's plan had a shock in store for them- or rather, shock troops.

Quadranos.

Particularly, three squadrons of Quadranos made more lethal in the circumstances and for this plan by the fact that unlike most of the units on Murhan-Thade 4 which had been thrown together by the Te'Dak Tohl from other units that the enforcers had chopped- the three squadrons of Quadranos by Fate were of the same original unit.

Koso had by chance been present at a d distance for their reunion and had witnessed the display of surprise and relief that had been shared by the reconstituting unit. Though displays of even the slightest emotion were rumored to be uncommon to the elite warriors of the female gender, their pleasure at seeing familiar faces that they must have considered lost had been clear.

Koso was not disappointed in their undisciplined response as he was sure that he would have felt and reacted the same way- mostly.

As swiftly as the center force was advancing strongly on the probe force's front, the Quadranos were moving stealthily up from the rear.

Lt. Hedra slowed his platoon as his Glaug vaulted a boulder that marked the point of transition between open field and the broken terrain to be cleared.. Within ten paces the intricacies of this ground became evident, as did the dangers they represented. Veins of igneous rock jutted out as a result of slower erosion than had affected the sedimentary mass that had once encased it. A labyrinth of squat mesas, outcroppings, furrows and chasms resulted, creating ample niches and positions of concealment in which an enemy could lurk.

The air above was split by the high-speed pass of a Gnerl squadron, their pulse jets setting the ground on a tremble as they went.

"All squads advance on the center by fours.", Hedra ordered, essentially breaking with the plan as it had been issued.

Technically speaking, Hedra did have discretion to move on the center if he had contact with the enemy or could perceive a tactical advantage in doing so. Koso could only assume the latter though he did not see it.

Hedra was breaking a platoon of mostly novice warriors into smaller groups and moving them into potential close-quarters combat- a mode of operation for which the Regult was not well suited.

If the probing force was on the move and Hedra's platoon met them suddenly in the confines of the broken ground, the inexperience of the new warriors might be offset by the fact that such contact was often decided by the quickest finger to the trigger and not by any great display of skill. If the enemy probe force was of the mind to stand and fight and had invested the time to select and prepare a defensive position- then Hedra's impulsiveness was going to cost in lives.

Koso was not in a good position to be able to argue his own thoughts with his platoon leader and wisely decided that to do so would only add to his warriors' problems. Hedra was as experienced a warrior as he, and moreover Hedra was in command.

"Negative contact on our pass.", came the voice of the squadron leader who had just overflown the area, "It's likely they've gotten down into the depressions where we're missing them."

The probing force had made its decision.

They were in there somewhere and quite likely they were preparing to fight. Koso imagined that the probe leader was either very confident of his warriors' abilities in close combat, or he was a reckless fool- or perhaps a mix of both.

From the same genetic batch as Hedra maybe.

"We could move over the top.", Koso suggested as the rocky features of the land began to grow more substantial and started to swallow the platoon.

Koso couldn't contradict Hedra, but he could suggest alternate approaches to the lieutenant's intended objectives.

"I like that idea.", Hedra agreed, his Glaug springing nimbly for a machine of its size and weight up and onto a rock formation, "Better than walking into their sights four thick, eh?"

The Regults of 1st and 2nd Squads were quick to follow the example of their lieutenant who had spoken as though it had been his idea. Apparently even the new warriors were aware of the perils of close quarters and were eager to try almost anything else.

Koso shook off the indignation of having his idea pilfered and instead concentrated on directing the warriors he hoped it would keep alive. Looking at his map display he could see where he was in relation to the numerous gorges and abscesses about him where the probe force could be hiding. Unfortunately with such a poor vantage point and no tactical data feed from an orbiting command ship, Koso was without the ability to see if anything was in those nooks. He and his warriors would have to peer into each in order to see.

Even the "better" plan had its drawbacks.

The first example of the plan's drawback greeted Koso within moments of the plan's adoption. A rocky-bottomed chasm yawned wide before the entire platoon, appearing like a furrow that had been gouged crudely and deeply from the rock by some immense and violent force.

Several Regults of Hedra's squads had reached the edge before Koso and had taken the chance of gazing in. No sudden spray of particle beam fire had greeted them, so it was likely that no one was laying in wait below. Koso felt the urge to warn these warriors not to rely on their sensors too heavily but rather to trust their eyes. As with hunting Invid in inactive lava tubes and chambers, the sensors could miss a mecha even at close range if it was carefully positioned in the natural cover.

Koso opted to speak in a way that would not undermine the warriors' confidence in their mecha.

"Look sharp and check carefully!"

Whether the others were taking heed of Koso's suggestion or simply hesitating to cross the obstacle of the chasm, Koso could not be sure. The platoon was beginning to bunch up though on the near rim which presented just the kind of target that Koso had hoped to avoid in suggesting the movement over the gorges.

Hedra's silence said that he was hoping for a volunteer to go first, lest he have to elect one.

"I'll jump it first.", Koso said abruptly as the sight of the platoon standing idle became too much for him, "Ulstik, you'll follow and then help to cover the rest."

With the simple plan issued and explained, Koso advanced his Regult toward the chasm, building the machine's speed to a full run with ease and in a short distance. The sprinting mecha leapt from the southern rim of the rift to the northern, a distance of some ten running paces, with little difficulty. What the standard Regult lacked in armament and armor, it more than compensated for in speed, physical power, and agility.

The landing on the northern side of the chasm was of little more discomfort than a run over rough terrain as the pod's powerful legs absorbed the shock. Of course, as confident in his plan for crossing as Koso had been, in the anxious state of actually doing it his landing had felt for a fleeting moment to him like the jarring of a weapons hit to his mecha. His throat constricted as cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and it took Koso a moment to be able to speak without fear of squeaking.

"Easy enough, Ulstik. You're clear to this point.", Koso informed his warriors, "Let's keep it moving."

In quick succession with Ulstik leading the other fifteen Regults under Koso crossed the gap with the same display of mechanical strength as had brought Koso over. As they crossed, the sub-lieutenant and the warrior, Ulstik, continued to monitor the gorge below.

Hedra bravely led the crossing of the second element under the cover of the first.

Reaching the north rim of the chasm, Hedra said in a way that only those new warriors who were not familiar with him could take seriously, "Koso, we need to pick up the pace. You're making me fall behind, and I don't want to lose face in the eyes of the other platoon commanders."

"Fate forbid that from happening.", Koso mumbled, before saying more clearly, "We haven't checked these crevices thoroughly yet. We don't want to risk leaving hostiles to our rear as we close on the center."

"Let's just keep moving.", Hedra decided, "If someone was down there, they would have fought or fled by now. We need to link up with the center force again before they push too far ahead."

"Do we know where they are in this mess?", Koso asked prudently, "Do they know where we are? Just bumping into them could be really bad-, and I hate doing the enemy's work for them."

To the northwest, without warning, a geyser of flame and smoke leapt from an unseen depression, hurling skyward a fractured portion of a Regult Pod that came tumbling to ground level in the comparative stillness of the following split second. As the fragment of mecha settled on its convex side, the darkened and sightless electronic eye seemed to stare directly at Koso.

The ghoulish sight did not have a chance to settle with the advancing platoon before another explosion rippled through the very ground. A wild spray of particle beam fire stitched the sky, and then the entire field took on the appearance that it would tear itself apart from the explosions which began to erupt from seemingly random locations.

"Contact!", came a female voice over the common frequency.

"Well, we know where the enemy is now!", Hedra exclaimed as his Glaug burst into a charge for the action. Fortunately for the lieutenant instinct and likely an ample portion of not wanting to be left alone in the fight prompted the platoon to follow instantly. Hedra was still coming to terms with the complexities of verbally issuing orders.

"And the Quadranos too-!", Koso added, riding the exhilaration of his Regult at a full gallop.

Had there been any doubt, it was quickly revealed that the Quadranos had in fact met the probing unit in some force as from within a depression further to the northwest, a Queadlunn-Rau combat suit rocketed up into the sky. As it roared skyward on a plume of exhaust from its thrusters, the pilot unleashed a hail of missiles back in the direction from which she had emerged.

A ball of plasma napalm rolled into the sky, the churning orange inferno almost reaching the combat suit that had unleashed it before it began to dissipate. From the same region, three Regults sprang from concealment into the open, engulfed in flame from a coating of plasma napalm that they had received.

Koso realized he had an unobstructed line of fire on all three burning Regults before their feet had touched the ground. He centered the closest in his gun sights and opened fire before his opponent could react. Reaction, Koso realized as the Regult went down hard on its back, was likely not to be directed at him or his warriors from any of the three Regults escaping the napalm firestorm. In the brief moment they had been in full view, the defining details of the two mecha left standing had started to dissolve in the intense heat of the plasma napalm that had saturated them.

The particle-beam cannons spaced evenly to either side of the pods' main bodies had started to droop forward as the terrilium alloy passed melting point. Similarly, the legs began to buckle on both as the heat had the same effect. Sparks spewed in thick showers from every joint as motors literally burned out and the fighting machines collapsed into crumpling heaps of liquefying metal.

Koso continued to fire on the two immobile and almost unrecognizable Regult forms, and found that the majority of the two squads under his command were joining him. It was likely that the new warriors in his charge were simply following his example as they worked in conjunction with their particle beam cannons to dice the two flaming Regults to bits.

Koso fired out of mercy and pity for warriors who should not have to burn to death.

The Queadlunn-Rau combat suit that had taken to the air only moments before hung above the evidence of its handy-work as the wreckage of the Regults burned away into unidentifiable masses. Koso watched as the power armor hovered on a jet of exhaust from its booster pack, turning slowly as if to find a new target. It occurred to Koso at that moment that from the Quadrano's perspective, he and his squads looked no different than the prey she was scanning for. Identifying himself, given the fate of the last three Regults the Quadrano had engaged, seemed a wise choice to Koso at that moment.

Before Koso could announce his squads and as it was prone to happen in battle, the hunter became prey before his eyes.

Alerted by her combat computer no doubt, the Quadrano in her power armor suddenly thrusted right in an attempt to evade a pair of missiles that erupted from below Koso's line of sight. Given fair warning, space, and a split-second's more time- Koso was certain from watching the nimble air movements of the large power armor that the pilot could have likely evaded the weapons.

Unfortunately, she had none of the three and took both missiles squarely in the chest.

Whether the damage resulting from the twin blasts that rained bits of armor over the uneven battleground was systemic, had caused injury to the pilot, or both- the Queadlunn-Rau was seriously wounded at a glance. The right shoulder dipped sharply, going well past the horizontal as the pilot lost control and vanished into the maze of ravines. There was no explosion, leading Koso to believe that the machine and more to the point of concern the Quadrano inside could have survived the crash.

Undoubtedly whoever had fired the missiles had seen the downing too and was less concerned with the pilot's survival than Koso- and likely was determined to finish what he had started.

"Ulstik, remain topside.", Koso ordered as he advanced on the nearest point of access to the deep fissures that veined the barren earth, "All Regults with missile pods, linger under Ulstik's charge. The rest, fan out in pairs and press north through the canyons. We'll neutralize them or flush them. Watch your fire-. The Quadranos will be coming from the other direction. Let's get into this fight!"

As the Regults under his charge scattered by twos to carry out his orders, Koso coaxed his Regult into a small leap over the precipice into the rocky maze below.

Marosa pressed her Queadlunn-Rau's back hard into the irregular surface of the sheer canyon wall as though she could by the augmented strength of the suit melt into the stone for safety.

Vaguely she was aware of Etmal helping Fahnyi, whose combat suit had taken two direct hits, back into the defilade afforded by a bend in the chasm's path. The contact with the element of the probe had been brief, but brutal. Marosa, who had taken the point position herself was unsure how she had not received the punishment inflicted on her subordinate. The canyon had bent, she had taken the inner path in rounding the corner whereas Fahnyi had taken the outer, and then all clarity of the moment had vanished in a fierce exchange of energy weapon fire.

Tactically correct, Fahnyi had made the snap decision to take the high ground by going airborne. Vindicated in her decision by her immediate victory over the three Regults the squad had made contact with, Fahnyi had also proven the cruel fact that the tactically correct decision didn't always yield absolute success.

"How many did you see, Etmal?", Marosa asked lowering her combat suti's particle beam assault rifle into the ready position.

"Couldn't tell-.", Etmal said, steadying her stunned comrade and trying to keep her on her feet, "There was a Glaug Pod, but that's all I-."

The rock just above and to the side of Marosa closest to the bend fractured into stone shards under the heavy blow of a Glaug Officer's Pod's heavy impact cannons. Marosa recoiled back along the wall, realizing as the dust settled around her that the particle beam rifle she was carrying had been sheered away mid-barrel.

"Yeah, I saw it too.", Marosa concurred as stone fragments continued to clatter down on her power armor, "Did you see anything else?"

"Couldn't tell.", Etmal repeated.

"Great.", Marosa muttered grimly. She couldn't be angry with Etmal as she had had the point and by that fact the best view of their opponents at the moment of contact. At least though she was aware of the adversary from whom she had the most to fear.

Point for point, the Glaug Pod and the Queadlunn-Rau were a fairly even in ruggedness and firepower, though the combat suit by its design had an edge on its mecha counterpart in agility and maneuverability. This was in the open though. In the confines of the ravine, Marosa knew these advantages to be negated.

Here it would be a contest of raw firepower and of who was quicker on the trigger.

Marosa knew that at close ranges, the heavier guns of the Glaug mounted in its menacing weapons arms, had her outmatched. Speed to the trigger was yet to be seen.

Quadranos prided themselves on fighting smarter though.

"Vala, what's your position?"

With the other officer's response came the muffled sound of weapons fire telling Marosa instantly that her friend would be able to offer little assistance, "Just to your east. I've got a squad plus two or three that we're pushing in your direction. Keep looking over your shoulder- I don't want to shove them into you without warning."

"I've got my own situation here.", Marosa said, "I've got their officer pinned down- possibly with supporting Regults. They don't seem to want to budge, so I think they're blocked in."

"Where's your squadron?"

"Scattered by twos, securing the area."

"Recall them to your position or withdraw. I can't tell if I'm pushing this squad into you or not. You don't want to get caught in a crossfire."

"I don't want them linking up with their commander either.", Marosa said, "I'm going to try to drive them out- maybe let our air cover do a little work today."

"Good luck with that.", Vala said dryly.

Marosa cleared her mind quickly.

The Queadlunn-Rau still provided her with the ability to better engage an adversary in three dimensions. She could booster-leap as Fahnyi had to a superior vantage point for the attack, but would run the same risk that had brought the junior officer down.

She could also employ the cover of the canyon's bend as far as it would allow, remaining on the ground. This simply traded the vulnerability of an air attack for that of engaging in a confined area. This option though provided the comfort of a quick retreat into cover if it was needed.

Or, Marosa thought again, she could do both.

"Etmal", Marosa instructed, "High explosive and plasma napalm missiles, you're carrying a full combat load?"

"Of course, just like you.", Etmal said, having steadied Fahnyi against the rock wall.

"Have I turned invisible?", Fahnyi cut in, her voice shaky but still clearly coherent.

"Are you functional?", Marosa asked.

"I've got a minor pressure leak in my suit, but I can fight.", Fahnyi assured her leader, "What's the plan?"

Marosa formulated her tactics as she spoke, "We're going to startle them with a shower of missiles. As soon as we hear the first go off, I'll move in by ground while you take them by air, Etmal. Hopefully I'll have their attention long enough for you to hit them again with missiles from above."

"That's risky", Etmal warned, "We don't even know how many we're talking about- and you could be nose-to-nose with the lot of them when I start shooting."

"Just get the Glaug- and not me..", Marosa said, "That's our main concern. If there are too many of them, I'll get out of there, but if we can knock out their officer-. Fahnyi, you're covering our rear. Questions?"

None being asked, Marosa accepted the heavy particle beam rifle Fahnyi offered her to replace the one she had lost. Marosa knew that success was going to require an impressive distraction of the enemy as much as close-quarters combat skill. The addition of the rifle to her individual arsenal would help to that end.

"Ready?", Marosa asked stepping away from the wall enough to guarantee her missiles a clear path of ascent.

Etmal and Fahnyi did likewise, the panels of their massive shoulder missile launchers opening as they awaited their squadron leader's command.

"I'm going to miss you, Marosa-.", Etmal said in a nervous stab at humor.

"Keep that thought in mind as you're shooting.", Marosa replied edgily, "Now!"

The narrow canyon filled with the blast of exhaust vapor and disturbed dust as dozens of missiles raced skyward and vanished into an arc. Sporadic bursts of panic fire sliced the air, but ceased as a rapid succession of explosions shook the canyon, showering the three Quadranos with loose rock.

Trying not to think of anything but the task at hand, Marosa charged out from behind her cover into a dense cloud of smoke and dust. Her Queadlunn-Rau's combat computer automatically tried to compensate for the poor visibility by integrating into the pilot's view aspects of the environment as seen through the infra-red spectrum.

Great luminous blotches filled Marosa's view as the plasma napalm from her squadron's missile attack heated the thin air within the broadened canyon. Visibility quickly went from poor to nil despite the advanced optics. Neither the heat nor the dust obscured the vision of Marosa's radar which was able to distinguish the mecha forms from the rock surfaces around them. If nothing else, Marosa had target indicator boxes she could saturate with fire- and there were indicator boxes in abundance.

Marosa unleashed a wide spread of armor-piercing missiles into the densest concentration of mecha before flanking right under a level spray from both the assault rifle she had taken from Fahnyi and the rapid-fire laser cannon standard to her suit's left forearm.

Return fire came in wild and poorly aimed bursts that ripped the air around Marosa and scored several minor hits to her combat suit as she reached a point of cover at the other side of the chasm floor.

Again, the earth shook beneath her feet and the walls of the canyon seemed to threaten to tumble in as missiles struck unseen marks in the dust that doubled again in density. A ball of flame carrying burning bits of rock and metal raced through the contours of the ravine with a roar that was audible even through the armored body of the combat suit.

Marosa felt a sharp blow to her armor at her left hip and realized that despite the devastation Etmal's missile attack had wrought, at least one of her enemies had survived. Her Queadlunn-Rau went down heavily on its left side into a depression that Marosa had not seen for the dust and smoke. From the bottom, she could still feel her left leg down through her toes- so she knew her leg had only been shot out from under her and not shot away.

As concentrated particle beam fire began to nick away at the lip of Marosa's inadvertently discovered defilade and the canyon wall above and behind her, it was clear that whoever had done the shooting was not acting alone and not intending to allow the Quadrano to return fire.

Marosa righted herself and was able to see over the stone obstacle giving her shelter. A shape emerged from the smoke. The bulbous shape of a Regult's body atop two less well-defined legs loomed almost above her. The pilot must have expected to find her incapacitated as there was a moment's hesitation, as with surprise in which Marosa brought up the left arm of her Queadlunn-Rau and opened fire with the triple-laser cluster. The fusillade opened a great cleft cutting across the vertical axis of the Regult's body as it sent the machine onto its back with the left leg flailing convulsively in the air.

Rising again, Marosa made out the silhouette of a Glaug Pod against the flash of a missile detonation further back in the chasm. The moment's glimpse showed Marosa that the Glaug was turning to face her, and though its shape was lost to the smoke with the subsidence of the explosion, her sensors saw it clearly and gave her an indicator box as reference.

At the same time, Marosa knew the Glaug could see her in the same way.

Still in the depression, Marosa flinched nonetheless as the air above her was sawed brutally by the heavy bolts from the Glaug's impact cannons as the officer sprayed into the murk. It would not take the Glaug considerable effort to correct its fire, Marosa knew.

Lunging into the smoke and dust, Marosa used the augmented strength of her combat suit to take up the Regult she had just struck down by a leg and the purchase provided by the fatal wound to its pilot's compartment. The suit groaned with the strain as she hefted it up before her on the advance, as one would carry a battering ram, and charged the direction of the Glaug.

The thick air was lit again from two distinct points as the muzzles of the Glaug's weapons arms directed another snap blast at Marosa. Suffering from the same limited visibility as Marosa, the Glaug pilot focused his fire on the first object he could see- the Regult Marosa had turned shield.

Light armor was ripped apart by the rapid impact of heavy energy salvos, but in shredding the Regult did nothing to the Queadlunn-Rau bearing it.

The Glaug Officer's Combat Pod took form in the haze, and before its pilot had time to understand the situation fully, Marosa flung the remains of the Regult at him and followed through with a flying leap.

The clumsy tackle had succeeded in laying the Glaug out on its back with the combined weight of Marosa and her combat suit on top of it, but the perception of advantage in this position was quickly lost to the lieutenant. Marosa felt one of the Glaug's powerful legs come up between her own and with an effort that seemed minimal, flip her headfirst onto her own back.

She was only coming to a rest when a foot came down heavily on her left arm as it was extended away from her body. The Glaug, clearly expertly piloted, had righted itself with the same ease used to dislodge her and now stood over Marosa. The lieutenant could clearly make out the rectangular shape of one of the Glaug's weapon arms as it hovered just above the sensor eye of her Queadlunn-Rau, as well as the perfect, dark circle of the impact cannon's muzzle.

Then came a flash.

The cry had not fully escaped Marosa's throat when the realization came to her that the jolt she had felt was not one signifying her death. Trying to rise, Marosa felt a weight pressing down on her combat suit.

"Marosa!"

Marosa recognized Etmal's voice as hands of other Queadlunn-Rau combat suits helped to free her.

"I'm okay.", Marosa said, "Just get this thing off me."

Marosa was able to see the diluted light of the sky again as Etmal and Fahnyi lifted the remains of the Glaug off her and assisted her to a standing posture.

"I thought that you had had it for a second there.", Etmal said to her squadron leader.

"What? With all of my outstandingsupport?", Marosa replied dryly, "Where were you, Etmal?"

"Right above you!", Etmal snapped, noticeably taken aback by the accusation that she had somehow failed in her obligations, "You were all over the place, so I couldn't very well open up on anything that moved!"

"I had hoped that you would have shot at something…"

"Watch out!", Fahnyi cried, breaking the exchange.

Marosa and Etmal whirled in the direction to which Fahnyi had begun to fire with her triple-laser cluster. Instinctively, the other two Quadranos joined in kind- firing blindly at the point in the settling smoke and dust where Fahnyi's lasers vanished. An explosion, followed by another immediately preceded the fall of a Regult that staggered out of obscurity.

"Cease fire!", came a male's voice, "We're allies!"

Marosa's throat tightened as she lowered her left forearm and the weapon atop it. The Regult that had stumbled from the smoke rocked back and forth on its face as the hatch to the rear opened and allowed an armor-clad warrior to stumble out.

At first, the lieutenant thought she was seeing unclearly- but as the warrior wobbled unsteadily in a circle, she realized that his right arm had been shortened to a stub between the shoulder and elbow.

"Hold your fire! We're coming out!"

Two more Regults appeared from the point across the chasm where the canyon bent and narrowed. The lead Regult advanced as far as its comrade had gone before being shot down by the Quadranos. Its glowing, red sensor eye considered the maimed warrior who still walked small circles under the anesthesia of shock.

Then, without warning the particle beam cannons atop the Regult's rounded body leveled and with a short blast laid out the one-armed warrior who gave a final twitch from the ground.

"It was an accident.", Marosa found herself explaining numbly, though she had no obligation to explain herself to a lesser grade warrior.

"Don't you Quadranos check your targets?", came the reply in an even, but clearly aggravated tone.

"Don't you male warriors announce yourselves before you pop into a combat area?!", Etmal shot back, displaying none of the sensitivity, mild as it was, displayed by Marosa.

"No, but we try to be aware of where our own warriors are!", raged the male, his reverence for the lieutenant's rank clearly worn through.

"Enough!", Marosa interjected, "Etmal, quiet!"

Marosa activated the video portion of her suit's communication system. Seeing a male, even if it was not face-to-face, meant having the ability to stare him down and possibly avoid an escalation that could become unfortunate.

As the viewscreen before Marosa within the confines of her suit split to show the feed from the Regult, Marosa paused in shock. She recognized the face as the warrior she had faced days earlier in the keh match aboard the Factory, and whom she had met again aboard the transport. Clearly the male sub-lieutenant was surprised by the second chance meeting as well, as his anger quickly dissolved.

"Lieutenant-.", Koso said, regaining much of his composure, "We're holding the flank. We saw your skirmish and came in to help."

"Who's holding the flank now?", Marosa asked.

"I left warriors topside, but we may be needed again. We should go."

"I agree.", Marosa said, "I am sorry about your warriors- I will answer for that."

Koso's face twisted in a surge of bitterness, "It's not you, Lieutenant- it was the Te'Dak Tohl's fault. They put us here."

"Lieutenant!"

Marosa and Koso were startled by the authoritative sting of Point Lieutenant Tuissant's voice.

The Quadrano turned to find her superior standing in her Queadlunn-Rau at the rim of the chasm, looking down on the assembly of mecha and the carnage of the skirmish within.

"We've eliminated the probe element. What's your status?"

"One dead, one injured, Point Lieutenant."

"Quadranos?", Tuissant asked with mild concern.

"No, a warrior of the mechanized infantry was killed.", Marosa reported regretfully, "That was my fault, I'm afraid."

Tuissant ignored her unsolicited confession, the concern in her voice gone, "Check the mecha of the dead and split their consumables. See that your combat suits are replenished with air and water."

"We will, but it won't go far between ourselves and Sub-Lieutenant Koso's warriors-."

"I didn't order you to replenish them.", Tuissant said.

"But-.", Marosa protested.

"We have many infantry warriors, Lieutenant.", Tuissant said coldly, "We must conserve Quadranos more carefully. Carry out your orders and regroup with your squadron…. Sub-Lieutenant-."

"Yes, Point Lieutenant?", replied Koso.

"Take your place on the flank. We'll be moving out shortly."

"How does this thing open?", Sub-Lieutenant Noge asked as he traced the seams of the felled Queadlunn-Rau combat suit with his gloved fingers.

Lieutenant Hedra, who like half of the squad he had led into the action had dismounted his mecha, stood back a pace from the female warrior's power armor, "I don't know, I've never been this close to one. It must have some kind of emergency catch."

Noge's probing fingers found indentations in the lower portion of the hatch/breastplate, and a moment later, the suit opened. Noge stood back as the hatch swung upwards revealing the deceased Quadrano within the combat suit's confines. Blue blood and particles of tissue and bone had splattered both the interior of the power armor and the pilot as well from the resulting spall of the explosion that had removed the leg of both.

Hedra paused, recognizing the warrior from the Factory. There was a momentary pang of indignation as he remembered the loss of the keh match- but seeing her coated in her own gore made the response seem both trivial and shameful.

She was a fallen warrior now, to be honored for her sacrifice for the unit, and despite the absence of life to her form she still had the ability to aide her comrades.

"Get her out of there.", Hedra ordered in a tone that implied care in its execution, "The air and water flasks should be behind the rear padding and plate- if it's put together anything like our combat suits-."

Noge and another warrior found the release clasps of the dead Quadrano's restraint harness and released them. With caution, as though their efforts could cause pain, they then gently extracted the pilot's remains, laying her out beside her machine.

Hedra straddled the open body cavity of the combat suit and looked for indications of how to gain access to the life support resources he sought. The interior of the suit was as different from the power armor provided for males as was the suit's design altogether. There were enough similarities to suggest to the lieutenant that his guess as to where to find the air and water flasks was worth pursuing further.

The edge of the Queadlunn-Rau's open breastplate, an arm's length from Hedra's face, reverberated with the glancing blow of a particle beam bolt which caused Hedra to lurch backwards and topple off the wrecked armor suit.

Lt. Vala, still in her Queadlunn-Rau combat suit, stood with the armor's particle beam assault rifle leveled at the exposed lieutenant as three of her squadron stood behind her similarly armed.

Under the muzzle, Hedra remained motionless as his subordinates who had dismounted their mecha to join him around the slain Quadrano carefully sidestepped the line of fire. Those warriors still mounted, two in standard Regults and two in missile pod equipped variants, spread themselves to maximize their fields of fire should the shooting begin.

"What do you think you're doing?", Vala growled, seeing clearly for the first time Lt. Aja's mutilated body laid out beside her combat suit. Vala's warriors had reacted instantly to the movements of Hedra's Regults and had replied by opening their missile launcher panels in a clear statement of deterrence.

"Gathering up what consumables are left in her suit.", Hedra replied without apology as he got to his feet and stood before the Quadrano lieutenant, "Your pilot fought well and valiantly, but she no longer needs either the air nor the water her suit carries.- There are a good many warriors who do. That includes my warriors."

"And mine.", Vala said motioning Hedra away with the muzzle of her rifle, "And as the air and water will be coming from a Quadrano, it will go to a Quadrano. Scavenge somewhere else, Lieutenant."

Three additional Queadlunn-Rau combat suits landed to the rear of where Vala's initial strength stood at the ready.

Hedra motioned to his warriors to stand down as he turned his back defiantly on the Quadrano lieutenant and made his way toward his Glaug Officer's Pod. The gesture barely took the edge off the anger building in Hedra. The females could be seen clearly over the field taking weapons from fallen Regults of both the probing force and the allied counter-force, transferring also the air and water from these mecha where it could be salvaged.

The Quadrano's instruction to "scavenge somewhere else" would have been as easily carried out taking from the rocks as trying to take from the dead on the field.

There was a great urge in Hedra to fight, but he knew well it was a fight that he could not win. The injustice of the situation would have to go unanswered- for now.

"Lieutenant."

Vala lowered her weapon as Point Lieutenant Tuissant approached with elements of her own squadron.

"What's the situation here?", Tuissant asked as Hedra's squad withdrew from the confrontation.

"Nothing serious.", Vala replied, "Males taking advantage of an opportunity."

Tuissant briefly looked to the body of the dead Quadrano pilot, "One of yours?"

"Yes, Point Lieutenant.", Vala replied, "A fine pilot, regrettably, and a good comrade."

"Don't dwell on it.", Tuissant said sternly, "Collect what you can. The enemy Regult Scout was able to get into the clear and transmit before we destroyed it. It's possible that whoever he was spying for has the reconnaissance data he collected. We should return quickly to our stronghold and report the action."

"We'll be ready to move out in five minutes.", Vala assured the senior Quadrano.

"See to it, Lieutenant."

Destroyer 525

Action Commander Lanon settled into his chair within the isolation of the command bubble and watched the ship's tactical display screen with mild interest and anticipation. Each orbit his ship had made of the barren world had acted something like punctuation in the developing (or perhaps the better term was deteriorating) battle between the norghil deposited there.

The first day of their marooning had been without significant event other than urgent calls from lower echelon commanders to a command structure that was not there to hear them. Those pleas for instruction and assistance had not lasted through the first night though.

By morning of the next day, clearly defined groups of units had begun to dissolve. By mid-day, they had begun to skirmish randomly, and now as the light was beginning to fail on the continent below, full scale battles were in progress without perceivable boundaries or objectives.

Lanon mused that the norghil had resorted to fighting for lack of anything better to do. The exposed actions of a baser species.

Still, there was something that Lanon found himself wanting to call noble in the struggle displayed by the norghil. The realization had to be setting in that there would be no leaving Murhan-Thade 4 alive, and whatever extension to life that would be gained by fighting one another would be short.

Still, they fought for that brief reprieve from the inevitable.

A desire to join in the conflict asserted itself again on Lanon, though he quickly suppressed it. It had surfaced several times in the tedium of his current assignment- the desire to simply deploy his own warriors, mecha, and fighters to meet the norghil squarely in some removed corner of their little war. It would be a chance to battle them equally for once- a true test of their mettle, as well as that of his own warriors.

They had fought norghil before, if one were to call the slaughter that followed the initial neutralization of the norghil's vessels and mecha fighting. It fulfilled a function, but failed to satisfy the warrior's desire, or answer his questions.

Lanon admitted to himself that he sought satisfaction in confirming his warriors' potential- in confirming and achieving his own potential. It would only take a brief excursion down to the planet below.

An excursion strictly forbidden in his orders, unfortunately.

Without Artoc to override their systems, the norghil would be fully functional. It had been made clear by the higher levels of command that Te'Dak Tohl casualties on the eve of the ultimate operation were unacceptable. The true fight was coming.

"Action Commander", said the communications officer, "A communication burst is incoming on the priority command channel."

Lanon heard the command bubble door slide open behind him as his executive officer joined him.

"Put it on."

"Yes, Lord."

A communications screen appeared over the ship's control center, displaying for a moment the ensign of the Te'Dak Tohl. The image was replaced in a moment by that of Sub-General Thal, commanding officer of the battle group to which Lanon and the other three destroyers of his reduced task force were assigned.

Lanon's interest grew keen as it was a rarity to see his superior, and an occurrence of even less frequency to receive a message relayed by him personally.

"Action Commander Lanon", Thal began. The message had been hours in transit even by hyperspace communications, so the urgency Lanon detected in Thal's voice could only be compounded by the delay factor in his receiving it.

"By direct order of Supreme General Krymina, you are being issued this alert and the subsequent instructions. A norghil force of three destroyers was able to slip the purge of The Factory and escape into hyperspace fold. It is possible, however improbable that they are in transit to your location in an attempt to recover their detached ground units. Should they be attempting this, you can expect their arrival in your operational area sometime in the next twenty-five hours from the time of receiving this transmission. If you and your task force encounter the rogue norghil, they are to be terminated with prejudice. Report any contact or action upon completion to me. This transmission ends."

The screen blanked out and vanished.

Lanon's executive officer smiled modestly with contentment, "Well, we had been looking for an excuse to join battle. It looks as though we may get one."

"We can hope.", Lanon replied, "But four on three, and against underpowered norghil-. Hardly the epic battle that history is made of."

"Sometimes we have to make do, Lord."

"True.", agreed Lanon, "Quite true."

"Your orders, Lord?"

"Post our orders to the crew and the other commands.", Lanon instructed, "Prepare for battle."

217