We were helpless.
There was a war waging outside, and all we could do is evade the enemy. We had to leave it to the cruisers and fighter-interceptors to protect us.
I supposed in a sense, we were relying on our defensive space fleet to protect us. I knew that if the defense fleet were destroyed, our battalion would have no way to attack the enemy in orbit. It was only the stalemate between our fleet and the enemy fleet that the enemy was forced to take the battle to the ground. We did not feel helpless as we fought the enemy on the ground.
"We got a radar lock," said Lieutenant Shelby Porter.
"Deploying countermeasures," said the lead pilot, pressing a button on the console of the cargo shuttle's instrument panel.
"Countermeasures effective," said Shelby. "We have no more countermeasures."
I read about countermeasures somewhere, how they can fool guided missiles into going off their intended courses. But a ship can only carry so many countermeasures. We now needed the cruisers and fighter-interceptors to cover for us, more than ever.
I could see a bright flash outside. Was that one of the enemy ships being destroyed?
Or one of ours?
"Too much radar interference," said the lead pilot. "Can't see."
We were all quiet for a moment. Did the enemy have the same problem? If they could see us, but we could not see them….
The glow from outside faded. I intensely waited, wondering if we would make it to the moon safely, or if we would soon be blasted to bits.
"Copy that," said the lead pilot. "There is no damage to our systems; we can make it to lunar orbit."
The rest of the trip was pretty much uneventful. I could feel the acceleration as the shuttle matched the moon's velocity.
"Errand Flight Two Four to ALuCe flight control, we are requesting permission to descend into the landing bay," said the lead pilot. "…We copy. We will set course for the descent vector. Landing thrusters are engaged."
"We've more than enough fuel to go," said Shelby.
The landing thrusters engaged and I could feel pressure on my feet.
Finally, after a total travel time of seven hours, we finally landed.
"That wasn't too hard," I said.
"It is a bit tricky," said Shelby. "There's no atmosphere here to assist our landing, unlike Earth and Mars. We have to use the landing thrusters to generate enough thrust to almost counteract gravity. It's like flying a Thunderbolt in guardian mode."
"Veritech fighters landing on the moon have to switch to guardian mode," said the lead pilot. "The controls for the landing thrusters are much like the controls for guardian mode on a veritech."
"And, except for takeoff, landing uses the most fuel. We're lucky we didn't leak fuel."
"Time to go," I said.
I went through this open door that was marked with a green light. It was an airlock door, and it only opened if the pressure inside the airlock equaled the pressure inside the passenger cabin. I soon passed another open door, also marked with a green light. This door could only open if the pressure outside equaled the pressure in the airlock. I then walked through this moveable, pressurized jet bridge that led me to a pressurized section of the moon base. On the other side of the jet bridge, people in olive green overalls- Space Marines- welcomed me.
"Welcome to Moon Base ALuCE, sir," said a Space Marine sergeant, saluting me.
I returned the salute. "The others from the 6th Battalion?"
"Their flight is landing shortly, Lieutenant," replied the sergeant.
The sergeant led me to a boarding gate for spacecraft. It looked pretty much like an airport terminal, minus the color ads for businesses that airport terminals usually had. I sat in one of the seats, leafing through a magazine published by the Space Marines Public Affairs Department.
I saw some more people come out of the gate, all dressed in MARPAT camouflage. I stood at attention as Major Jack Emerson emerged.
"Did everything arrive safely, Lieutenant?" asked the major.
"Yes, sir," I replied. "All of the hovertanks are accounted for, sir."
"You will need to oversee the unloading."
"Yes, sir."
And so I did. The hovertank suits, when worn with the helmet, protected the wearer from the vacuum of space. I made sure to attach the oxygen tank. A heads-up display on the visor of my helmet showed me how much oxygen I had. I went through the cargo airlock, which was much larger than the passenger airlocks used by personnel to enter the base. I waited awhile with a few other soldiers assigned to assist with the unloading of our cargo, as the air was pumped out of the airlock. Then the door to the hangar was unlocked.
We went to the Air Force cargo shuttle in which I rode.
"Can you hear me, sir?" asked Private First Class Philip Ducasse, his voice transmitted over the speaker.
"Copy," I replied. Our voices had to be transmitted over the radio, as a vacuum obviously does not transmit sounds, despite what I had watched in movies and on the television.
I looked into the cargo bay of the Liewneuatzs, which was never pressurized. There were at least ten VHT-1 Spartas veritech hovertanks inside. Glancing at the cargo airlock, only four of the hovertanks can go through at one time.
"All right, people," I said. "This is going to take a long time. Remember, safety first, last, and always."
"Yes, sir!" snapped the other soldiers.
The veritechs were all stored in battloid mode. We walked the battloids into the cargo airlock, which was big enough to fit at least two Monster destroids. After passing through the airlock, we walked the battloids through the streets of the base. The streets were lined with buildings, many of them connected by footbridges. We were guided to this garage where our hovertanks would be stored and maintained. It took maybe over an hour to finish. In the meantime, other soldiers were unloading essential equipment and supplies we would need.
Finally, Jack gathered all of us in the hovertank hangar. All of us stood at attention by troop and company.
"All right, people," he said. "I know for many of you, this is your first time on another world. We are not here on vacation. We will continue training and drilling and working as we did on Earth. The base here has clubs for enlistees and officers, as well as restaurants if you do not want to eat at the messes. After we check in to our quarters, the Space Marines are inviting us for chow at the mess halls."
We were all billeted in this huge room elsewhere in the base; it must have been a spare room for storage, such as storing personnel who are guests here. Canvas walls were set up to partition the room, separating men from women and officers from enlistees. Cots were set up for us to sleep on.
"All comfy there, guys?" asked Jack as he entered the room.
"Yes, sir," said Lieutenant Michael Meyers.
"At least there's running water on base," said Jack. "I'll be attending meetings for the next few hours. I am sure you can take care of yourselves."
"Of course," said another officer.
"Good," said Jack, leaving the room.
Supper was served in the officers' mess. The supper that was being served was chicken stew. I had a cup of water to wash it down. The officers' mess was painted with a mural with scenes from all the armed services- while Moon Base ALuCE was operated by the United Nations Space Marines, personnel from all five services were stationed here.
After I was done, I left the officers' mess. I saw Master Sergeant Rebekah Avital approach me.
"Lieutenant, Major Emerson wishes to meet with you, sir," she said.
And so I did. The base had this transit system for transporting personnel; from what I have read, Moon Base ALuCE was huge, at least ten miles across. The master sergeant had given me directions to where I would meet Jack.
Walking through the corridors, I met Jack inside this observation room where I had a view of the cratered moonscape beyond the transparent walls. The room itself had some chairs and tables. There were a few other people with Jack.
I recognized one of them as General Rolf Emerson, now the commander of the Robotech Defense Forces Command.
"Lieutenant, we have reviewed your actions during that battle in the western Sahara," said the general. "For this, you are awarded the Titanium Medal of Valor."
He then gave me the medal.
"I am honored, sir," I said.
"And now I will take action," said Jack. "Under the authority vested in me by Section 702 of the United Earth Forces code, I hereby promote you to second lieutenant. I will assign you as XO of the 6th ATAC Battalion's 18th troop, under First Lieutenant Michael Meyers."
"You can do that?" I asked.
"I am a major; I have the authority. Unless someone higher in the chain of command has any objection."
"Not at this time, Major," said General Emerson. "Everyone, back to your posts."
"Yes, sir!" we all replied.
Oooooooo
My battlefield promotion was celebrated at the O-club at Moon Base ALuCE. It was a small place, with wooden tables and chairs and stools, a full bar with a wooden countertop, recruitment posters from all five services decorating the wall, and menus listing expensive food and drink. There was a stage on the O-club for singers.
"Now you don't screw up, or Jack will make you a butter bar again," said Mike.
"Got it," I said, sipping my vodka cranberry. I would indeed be taking on new responsibilities.
I looked and saw Shelby enter the O-club. She was clad in the Class "A" Air Force uniform, the analogue of the Class "A" Army uniform.
"You're still here?" I asked.
"I was told that I could not fly back to Earth until the route to there is secured," said Shelby. "I'm being billeted with an Air Force transport squadron stationed here."
"And how long will you be here?"
"We'll be here until a path can be cleared to Earth."
Jack entered the club.
"It's been a long time since I was here," he said.
"You were here before?" I asked.
"Yeah," replied the major. "I was assigned here a few years ago, behind a desk at HQ REFCOM. That was before I was assigned to Colonel Kravshera's battalion."
"How was it like?"
"Not as much stuff to do here as on Earth. Apollopolis- that's the civilian city located next to the base- it only has about a hundred thousand people, less than a tenth of Monument City's population. And everything is so expensive, since most stuff has to be shipped from Earth."
Jack looked towards the stage.
"You gonna sing?" asked Mike.
"No," said Jack, holding a glass of vodka cranberry. "I just want to relax. I've had to attend meeting after meeting after meeting."
"You're a major," said Mike. "It goes with the territory. That's why you get paid more than lieutenants and get your own room."
I sipped my own vodka cranberry, wondering if I would be promoted to major or even lieutenant colonel before my service obligation was up. Would I be able to handle the responsibility?
And I wondered how Melissa was doing.
Ooooooo
The troop leaders were being briefed in this huge bare room. A lieutenant colonel clad in a Class "A" uniform was addressing us; we all stood at attention.
"We have adopted the Special Vision Track Firing System for the VHT-1 Spartas veritech hovertanks," said the colonel even as a sergeant handed us these booklets. "They were developed a few weeks ago, and the results were very promising. The simulators have already been upgraded. These booklets should give your technicians instructions on how to install the SVTFS into the cockpit of the hovertanks."
"Sir, we will need to test the system ourselves," said Jack.
"You are all dismissed," said the colonel.
"You're in charge in overseeing the installation of this system for our troop," said Mike.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
And that was what we did. We- or rather the technicians under my supervision- installed the new firing system inside the Spartases.
"It's a good thing that the hovertanks were equipped with expansion modules, sir," said Executive Sergeant Wing, who had replaced Rebekah Avital when she was promoted to battalion master sergeant. "We don't have to take the whole thing apart."
I glanced at the specs for the hovertank. There were plenty of empty spaces inside for future customization, in case something like a missile launcher had to be installed.
As I walked in the garage, I noticed some of the technicians with laptop computers connected to the veritechs. I read that they had to program the SVTFS.
"That's the last of them in this troop, sir," said a staff sergeant.
"Good," I said. I looked at Executive Sergeant Wing. "Executive Sergeant Wing, see if you can loan our people to assist with the other troops' upgrades."
"Yes, sir," replied the executive sergeant.
Oooooooooo
The final test of the upgrade was a live exercise. We had first practiced in the simulators that had incorporated the SVTFS. But we had to make sure that the system was compatible with our hovertanks. The Space Marines had escorted us to the target practice area for armor units. It was outside the pressurized areas of the base. Fortunately, our hovertank suits were airtight, and we had oxygen masks.
"Okay people," said Mike, addressing the 18th. "Listen up. This is a practice fire exercise. As commanding officer of this unit, I shall have the privilege of going first."
I got into my own veritech even as Mike entered his. Mike fired a few rounds at the targets while in hovertank mode. The rounds were practice rounds, which were basically giant paintballs; they were cheaper than live ammunition.
"Okay, it's your turn," Mike said to me.
And so I did. The SVTFS tracked the movement of my eyes as I looked for the targets. I saw a target, and then pressed the button to fire. The cardboard target was sprayed with paint. I fired at the targets again and again, coating them with colored paint.
"Good," said Mike. "Now Executive Sergeant Wing, show the others how it is done."
"Yes, sir," said Wing, maneuvering his hovertank.
We continued the exercise for quite some time, firing paint at the targets in all three modes- hovertank, guardian, and battloid.
"Okay, we're done," said Mike. "We'd better head back inside before we run out of air."
And so we did. As we went through the vehicle airlock leading into the moon base, a few soldiers commented on how they could use a break.
I would have to continue my work, both with evaluating the performance of the SVTFS and attending meetings with the battalion staff. I did sometimes envy the junior enlistees, even though they had to do the dirty work.
Ooooooooo
I was finally glad for a break, after having to review the troop's performance and attending an hours-long meeting with Jack and the others in the battalion staff. I went to the base's Internet kiosk. It basically had rows of computer terminals consisting of a screen, a keyboard, and a trackball. A few soldiers were already online, checking e-mails and web sites.
I logged on to my e-mail account and I saw a list of messages. Many of them were typical junk e-mails that somehow got through the junk e-mail filter. One e-mail caught my attention.
It was an e-mail from Melissa Sharp. I clicked on the link to open the e-mail.
I was stunned after reading the first few words.
"I can't continue this relationship," she had written. "We haven't seen each other and we are light-years apart."
I read those words, over and over again, for a few minutes. I could not believe this. How could she do that to me? I had waited to see her ever since I was captured, and waited even harder after learning that she survived the attack on Casablanca. For her to do this to me, after what we had been through?
I just sat there at the Internet kiosk terminal, staring at the screen for a long time.
I looked and saw Shelby at one of the Internet terminals.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
"Great," she said. "It's different scenery than Spain."
"If you like barren rock. You can't even see Earth from here. Here we are indoors all the time. Would you like to join me for a drink in town."
Shelby looked at me. "Sure," she said. "I can show you around."
And so we did.
Ooooooo
Apollopolis was the site of the first civilian human settlement of off Earth, built above an underground ocean, with construction finished about ten years before the arrival of robotechnology. Many, many habitats, with their own air supply, had been added to the city since.
Shelby and I left through ALuCE Base's main gate, which was a short tunnel that can be sealed off in event of a hull breach. Apollopolis had a mass transit tram; from what I had heard, most people in town did not have their own personal cars. Boarding the tram, we sat inside with some soldiers, airmen, crewmen, and marines from the base, all in Class "A" uniforms like us.
"Here's our stop," Shelby said after a few minutes.
"You've been here before?" I asked.
"It was part of my flight candidate training," she replied. We and many of the others got off. The station here looked different from the station serving Moon Base ALuCE, which was bare except for some benches and recruitment posters on the walls. Here, there were wooden benches and potted plants. A vending machine served Coca-cola; I noticed that the prices were much higher than prices on Earth. The station was identified as Lunar Park Station. We went up an escalator, walked through this hallway which had an air pressure gauge on the wall, and then we rode up another escalator.
The first thing I noticed upon reaching the top was the sky. Apparently there was a transparent dome; we could see the stars. There were concrete paths winding among trees and grass. Wrought-iron lampposts lined the concrete foot paths. There were some benches and picnic tables on the sides.
"Sort of like we are inside, yet outside," I said.
"There's the place," said Shelby.
There was this food court like place, enclosed in velvet ropes. Chairs and tables were set up on a concrete surface, with many people already sitting in them. There were several stands, some serving food, others serving alcohol. Some of the stands had already closed. Music was played from these speakers in the corners of this food court.
We walked to the bar, and this pretty lady in a sleeveless top smiled at us.
"What would you like to drink?" she asked, standing behind the bar.
"Lunar water vodka," said Shelby.
"Lunar water?" I asked.
"Raw lunar water straight from under the surface. We had this last year when our squadron was assigned here for a training mission."
I held the drink in my hand and sipped it. It had this sharp taste of alcohol mixed with salty and sweet tastes.
"Tastes different," I said, sitting on a barstool. "Anything new happening?"
"I have T.A.D. with a Space Marine Thunderbolt squadron."
"Space Marine?" I asked, puzzled. "Why weren't you assigned to an Air Force squadron?"
"The only Air Force squadron here is an Ajax squadron, and I can't fly an Ajax."
"How's it like being billeted with Space Marines?"
"I'm not being billeted in their section; I still have the same temporary quarters. I just have to report to the squadron on my duty shifts."
I looked around. Sure, Apollopolis has its novelties, but I was at a loss to wonder why anyone would live here. One could not go outside without a spacesuit and the food here is expensive.
I ordered another round of drinks. "A lot different from that place, Mansota?" I asked.
"Minnesota," replied Shelby. "No way it would ever snow here."
"But you won't get hurricanes here either."
I have lived through one or two hurricanes in Jamaica. They had always caused quite a wreck, even destroying a few buildings. I had heard and read about what happened in Jamaica near the end of the First Robotech War; while I lived through it, I was too young to remember. I heard that it was like two Category 5 hurricanes striking the island from two sides, and the pictures of battered cities that I saw reinforced that saying.
"Yeah," she said, looking around and sipping her drink. "But sometimes I like weather, especially after a good snowstorm when you can just ski around."
"It snows in parts of Spain, right?" I asked.
"In the mountains. But they don't have cross-country skiing; the flat lands don't get snow. Right now, I think we need another drink."
"Okay. What else are we going to do with our bonus pay?"
And so we had more drinks. The music seemed to blend into us. I could feel a buzz in my head, like I was partially detached from the Universe.
I took Shelby's arm, and we danced to the music. I could feel my heart race. This was fun. I felt as if all the stress of our deployment here melted away.
Oooooooo
I woke up and felt that I was on a bed, which was remarkable, as I had been sleeping on a cot in a room with other junior officers these past few weeks. I also felt warmer than I did when I slept on the cot.
I noticed Shelby sleeping next to me; her blond hair tangled.
"Uh, good morning," I said.
"Good morning," she replied.
Looking around, we were clearly in a hotel room with the typical furnishings- a plasma television, a varnished wooden desk with a chair in front and a lamp on top, a dresser, and of course, the bed where we slept. The floor was covered by a carpet; clothes were scattered on the floor near the bed.
On a small wooden desk next to the bed, a clock radio read in red numerals that the time was 5:30.
"I have to get back to base," I said. "If I'm late, I'll be lucky if all Jack does is take away my promotion."
I quickly put on my clothes. Looking at the mirror, I noticed that my uniform had a few wrinkles. I hoped that the Class "A's" were not the uniform for the day.
"We'll have to check out," said Shelby. "There should be video check out on the TV."
"Right," I said. I turned on the TV and pressed a few buttons. There were all these menus with options. I had trouble trying to find video checkout. I tuned into one of the channels, which played some cartoon show featuring giant robots. I pressed the Menu button on the remote control. After a while, I found the Check Out option under the Guest Services menu. Selecting Check Out, I went to another menu and I selected Yes.
"I checked us out," I said. "Don't forget anything."
I left the room and went to the elevator, emerging in the lobby less than a minute later. Not even glancing to loom around, I left the lobby, emerging out to a street lined with lampposts and buildings and with cars and trucks driving down the street. I wondered how to get to base.
Looking down the street, I saw a sign above a stairway leading to the underground tram. I quickly walked down the stairs and into the station. It was not crowded; only a few people were there. I looked at a map hanging on the wall and I found out I would have to switch tram lines to reach Moon Base ALuCE. I briefly wondered how we got from the lunar park to the hotel.
Sitting inside the tram gave me time to think. I did not love Shelby Porter. Sure, she was a fun person, and I got along with her, but there wasn't that emotional connection. I then thought about how much I missed Melissa, and I then wondered if I spent the night with Shelby because I missed Melissa so much.
After one stopover and one more tram ride, I reached ALuCE station, which served the moon base. I rode an escalator up to this small underground room. One path led to the street level of Apollopolis. One path led out of the base, and one path led into the base. That was the foot entrance into Moon Base ALuCE and I ran inside, passing through the tunnel, and to the guard post manned by Space Marine Military Police.
"Lieutenant," said a Space Marine sergeant.
I showed my ID, telling them my rank and post.
"Tell Lieutenant Meyers and Major Emerson at the Army's 6th Battalion forward post that I am on my way," I said.
"Yes, sir," replied the sergeant.
I ran along the sidewalks of the base, passing people. I nearly ran into a truck along the way. Finally, I reached the building where my battalion was stationed.
"Lieutenant," Executive Sergeant Wing addressed me upon seeing me. I noticed he was dressed in MARPAT camouflage.
"Is that the uniform of the day?" I asked.
"Yes, it is, sir. I strongly recommend you get dressed, sir."
And so I did, quickly changing from my Class "A's" to my MARPAT.
And just in time, as it was time for breakfast.
Breakfast was less stressful, as I had scrambled eggs and toast. A third lieutenant from the battalion staff- I knew her as Lieutenant Mejian- called our attention.
"Major Emerson is in a meeting right now," she said, her dark hair tied in a ponytail.
Oooooooo
A while later, we found out what the meeting was about. Jack assembled the entire battalion. Lieutenant Chalmers and Master Sergeant Avital stood by his side.
"All right, people," he said. "We are being deployed for an attack against the Robotech Masters in orbit. Our job will be to be to seize the Robotech Masters' ships. That's right; we're now doing the job of the Space Marines."
I figured so many Space Marine veritech armor battalions were lost over this war.
"Remember," the major continued, "the most important thing you have is your air supply. The enemy will surely try to deprive us of air as soon as we board. All combat troops are to gear up and move to their assigned drop ships."
And we did. I suited up and then drove my hovertank to Hangar 32, where our drop ship was waiting. After passing through another cargo airlock, we entered the hangar.
Inside the hangar was this huge rectangular ship, much larger than a Liewneuatzs cargo shuttle. It sort of looked like a sawfish, with a long, sharp extension extending from the front. "U.N. SPACE MARINES" was stenciled prominently on the hull of the craft. It dwarfed everything else inside, including our hovertanks.
"I'm Lieutenant Meyers of the 18th Troop of the 6th Battalion," said Mike.
"Major Shu, commander of this Daedalus boarding ship," said a person in a space suit; I could tell from the voice that the major was a woman. "I never imagined we'd have to haul the Army. You've heard how we operate, right?"
"Yeah, basically if there is a hull breach, you guys jam the ship in and we go in."
"For obvious reason, the whole ship is unpressurized. Better make sure you have spare tanks."
"We got plenty of tanks, madam."
"I mean air tanks, Lieutenant."
"Yeah, that too, Major. Okay, people, everyone get in."
We all boarded via this ramp in the front of the Daedalus. Mike did a quick head count.
"We're all in and ready to go," he said.
"Okay," replied Major Shu. The ship's ramp was shut.
"I never did this before," said a corporal.
"This is our plan," said Major Shu. "We are stay in the rear while the Spacy blasts holes in the enemy ships. Once a hole is punched in the enemy ship, we will go in."
"It sounds simple," said Mike.
I agreed. Of course, things can get really complicated, such as enemy bioroids attacking the boarding ship.
And I knew that some of the people driving those bioroids were prisoners of the Robotech Masters, robbed of their will, their brains connected to the bioroid's systems.
And we would be killing people who were victims of the Robotech Masters.
And yet, the only way to stop the Robotech Masters from taking more people from Earth and sticking them into their bioroids was to destroy their ability to do so, which would kill some of their prisoners.
Maybe, just maybe, we could rescue them.
"Okay, people," said Major Shu. "We've been cleared for takeoff."
And I felt a little heavier as the Daedalus's landing thrusters burned, lifting us out of the hangar and into deep space and the battle ahead.