Here I was again.
Back on the moon.
The flight here, while long, was uneventful. They even served a good in-flight meal. After entering the terminal, a Space Marine escorted me to a vehicle corridor, where a Toyota Avalon staff car was waiting.
"Next stop, HQREFCOM," said the driver, a Space Marine corporal.
After a few minutes, we stopped at this concrete building, about four stories high. A sign identified it as the headquarters of the Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command, the unified combatant command that conducts the United Earth Forces' combat operations beyond Earth's solar system. I approached the glass doors of the main entrance, and an Air Force airman opened the door for me.
The lobby was huge, which was not surprising for the headquarters of a unified combatant command. There were chairs along the wall linked together, and glass-topped tables. A directory was to the right, and the front desk was staffed with junior enlistees. There were several people sitting down in the lobby. Some were military, dressed in the Class "A" service uniforms of their respective services, others were civilians dressed in business suits.
I waited for a few minutes. An Army corporal in Class "A's" entered the lobby.
"Sirs, madams, General Beckett is expecting you," he said,
And so most of the people and I that were waiting in the lobby followed him, navigating through a maze of hallways and elevators. I noticed a lot of activity, with uniformed servicemen walking back and forth, some of them carrying folders.
We went through some double doors. A sign next to the doors had read, "Office of the Deputy Commander of REFCOM". The front office had several sofas and a coffee table, and there was a desk where a Space Marine sergeant was sitting.
"The general is inside his private office, sirs and madams," she said.
And so we entered the private office behind the front office. The office was well decorated, as I expected a general's office to be. The centerpiece was this finely varnished wooden desk. A wooden bookcase stood to the left. On the back wall I noticed a photograph of an early-model veritech fighter, and another photograph which was that of the SDF-1 Macross.
Behind the desk sat a man with close cropped hair, dressed in the Class "A" service uniform of the United Nations Space Marines. The nameplate on the desk identified him as Lieutenant General Angus Beckett. We all stood at attention.
"Everyone," said General Beckett. "We have been expecting you. You are here for a diplomatic mission with the Robotech Masters."
I continued listening.
"For a while the enemy has not launched offensives against us, and three days ago they requested a temporary cease fire. They wanted to discuss peace talks, and they asked for certain personnel to be there."
I figured I was one of them. I was just an Army second lieutenant.
The telephone rang, and the general answered. "Thank you, Sergeant." He looked at us. "The admiral is on his way; he will be representing the UEF on this mission."
About a minute later General Beckett stood at attention. I noticed how tall he was; he stood at least a couple of inches above me.
I turned around and saw the man who entered the room. The two things I noticed was that he was blue and he was tall. He stood at least a foot taller than General Beckett. He wore the Spacy Class "A" service uniform, and from the sleeve markings I knew he was an admiral.
"I am Admiral Breetai, commander of the Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command," he said in a voice that sounded like thunder.
We all introduced ourselves.
"A shuttle is waiting to take us to the Robotech Masters' ship," said the admiral. "General Beckett, is there anything else?"
"Well, sir, in my opinion I can not trust the Robotech Masters," replied the general. "Remember, sir, that they attacked us at the Saturn Test Flight Center without any provocation."
"And if I may speak, sir," said a blond-haired woman who had introduced herself as Lieutenant Dana Sterling.
"Go ahead," said Breetai.
"The leaders of the Robotech Masters were killed. These new leaders might be willing to deal with us in good faith."
"The lieutenant has a point," said Admiral Breetai. "I myself dealt in good faith with the people of Earth when I was Supreme Commander of the Zentraedi Nation, although my predecessor did not. Is there anything else?"
"Admiral Hayes-Hunter of the Pioneer Mission sent a report, as well as a request for more supplies," said General Beckett. "I'll take care of it."
"Then we shall be off," said Breetai. And so we were.
We once again navigated through the hallways of HQREFCOM, and went out the main entrance, where several Toyota Avalon staff cars were waiting. I rode in a staff car with Lieutenant Sterling and some of the U.N. civilian officials. After a few more minutes, I was back at the Moon Base ALuCE's spaceship terminal. We all boarded the Star Goose shuttle via a jet bridge.
We took off almost as soon as we were all strapped in. I guessed an admiral could make sure his official trips get first priority.
"Are all of you doing okay back there?" asked the Air Force pilot flying the shuttle.
"Yes, we are," replied Admiral Breetai.
"There's something I have to tell you, Admiral," I said.
"What is it, Lieutenant?" asked the admiral.
"Sir, I don't know if you've already been briefed on this, but when I was on leave on Jamaica, I had contact with someone who was of the Robotech Masters."
"What did that someone say?"
"She showed me a flower. It was the same flower in the grave of the SDF-1. I was part of the team that tried to destroy the flowers during that battle in Monument City, sir. She said we might have a common enemy."
"That was a Flower of Life," said a green-haired woman sitting a few seats away. "It is the raw material for protoculture."
"Yeah, that was what she said. I notified the local authorities, and reported the incident to my commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lupon Kravshera. I haven't told anyone else about it."
"Your debriefing is noted, Lieutenant," Admiral Breetai said to me. "And let us not discuss this further until we meet with the Robotech Masters."
"Yes, sir," I replied.
I looked at him. If he had already known, he did not reveal it from the look on his face.
The rest of the trip was uneventful.
"We are preparing to enter the landing bay of the ship," said the pilot.
And so we did. I heard a thud, presumably the shuttle's landing gears making contact with the deck of the landing bay.
"They've connected the jet bridge, sir," said the pilot. "We may proceed."
We walked through the jet bridge; I noticed subtle differences in design from the jet bridge used in the shuttle terminal of Moon Base ALuCE. We all emerged into what appeared to be a lobby, with chairs and tables.
A woman with greenish-blue hair awaited us. She wore this red dress that reached to her ankles. She was escorted by uniformed guards armed with the equivalent of pistols and batons.
"Welcome aboard," she said. "I am one of the triumvurate in charge of one of the Robotech Masters' fleets."
"I am Admiral Breetai," said Breetai, "commander of the Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command, and representing the United Earth Forces in this matter."
We all introduced ourselves. I noted that the U.N. ambassadors of the United States, China, and Russia- all members of the U.N. Security Council- were here. I also noticed that the green-haired lady who rode with us was called Musica, and that she could pass for a twin of the lady greeting us.
"We do have something to show you all, the reason we wanted to negotiate with your United Earth Government," said our host.
She led us through some halls and to a corridor where vehicles were waiting for us. The corridor looked much like the cargo corridor of that Robotech Masters mothership that I had invaded a few months ago, with bare walls and overhead lights and guide signs mounted on the walls. I sat in the vehicles for a few minutes. The vehicles soon came to a stop in a garage.
"Let us go," said the lady.
We all went through a pair of double doors. There was yet another lobby, though smaller than the lobby of the hangar deck. One of the crewmen of the ship handed us hard hats.
We then walked through this utilitarian hallway, with exposed pipes and conduits overhead. The floors and walls were made of some sort of metal, and I could hear the footsteps as I walked. I could smell this slight tangy smell.
"Here we are," said our host.
We were in this huge room. The centerpiece of this room was this huge cylindrical thing, standing about two stories tall. The exterior was made of metal, and pipes and cables ran into it. Catwalks and stairs allowed access to the floor of the room and the metal cylinder. Workers in overalls and hard hats either walked about or stood still.
Two other ladies, looking identical to our host and Musica, walked in. They wore these fine dresses, as well as the yellow hard hats. The other two ladies wore blue and gold dressed, respectively.
"This is the protoculture matrix," said our host. "The device than refines the Flower of Life into protoculture."
"We have been working on it for years," said one of her triplets, the lady in gold. "It was just a few days ago that we had tested the protoculture."
"And now we can make protoculture again."
I stared at the huge device. I looked and saw a man in overalls push a cart and then dump its contents into a chute leading right into the protoculture matrix. So that was what made the stuff that powers robotechnology.
"Shall we go to more suitable surroundings for a conference?" asked our host.
And so we did. We walked through some more corridors, and then we all entered this room. The room had a wooden table in the center with some seats. A side table held a ceramic vase. The room overlooked the protoculture matrix's chamber; I could see the matrix through the window.
"Our sources indicate that the Flower of Life now blooms on Earth," said our host.
I noticed the representatives of the U.N. Security Council nodded; evidently they knew that it was true.
"It will be a great beneficial resource for both our peoples," said another triplet.
"It is unfortunate so many people were killed in a war over the last protoculture matrix," said the third triplet. "We all apologize on behalf of the deceased leaders who brought this war to Earth."
"You apology is accepted," said the American delegate.
"And we may have more war on our hands," said the first triplet. "At our height, we kept the galaxy at peace. But our power dwindled when the Zentraedi were defeated and our protoculture started running out. Now other interstellar civilizations are trying to fill in the power vacuum, including our longtime enemy, the Invid."
"I've heard the Invid mentioned by your old leaders," said Lieutenant Sterling.
"Our oldest enemies," said the second triplet. "They too seek the power of protoculture, and Earth is now the largest source of the Flower of Life. Earth may soon be a battleground over this."
"Maybe we can make peace with these Invid," said the delegate from China. "We can ask them to help rebuild our world in exchange for the flowers."
"Peace with them will not be possible," said the triplet in red. "They wish to dominate all who use protoculture."
I wondered how much of this was true, and how much was this was colored by their experience with these Invid.
"The Invid were indeed fierce foes with the Zentraedi," said Admiral Breetai. "It took many, many years to drive them into hiding. But now, nineteen years after the Zentraedi were defeated over Earth…"
"I do have one question," said Sterling. "How did you manage to build the protoculture matrix? Wasn't the secret lost with Zor?"
"I was close to Zor," said the triplet in the red dress. "We shared much together back when we were in Tirol. Our world, now an empty shell of its former self. Zor, he disagreed with our leaders, believed what they were doing was wrong. That was why he stole the last protoculture matrix and sent it on his ship. We tried to hard to recreate his work. If only we could have finished the protoculture matrix before we invaded, we could have avoided this tragedy."
I thought of the lives lost in this war. I thought of the people that I knew who were not alive today.
"Still, you should tell us why we should trust you," I said. The others in our delegation looked at me, wondering why I, a lowly second lieutenant, was speaking. "You put POW's and Earth's civilians into those bioroids, drugged them, forced them to kill their neighbors."
"It was a directive from the highest command," said the lady in blue.
"Just following orders is no excuse."
Some of the people in my delegation nodded in agreement.
"I was one of those people you put in those bioroids," I said. "How many people were killed by you using me! How many of my own people did I kill in battle?"
"And that is why you are here," said the lady in red. "You were used in our bioroids. We, and I speak for my sisters and I, not just our former rulers or the Robotech Masters as a nation, we did wrong. We were wrong to force you and your people into those bioroids, use your brain as a combat computer, and we understand why you do not trust us. We still have some of your people as prisoners, even using them as bioroids. As gestures of good faith, they will be released. We will also inform you of the deaths of the prisoners who died in our custody. And we will also supply you with some of the protoculture we made. We will need to rebuild, and to at least make peace, in order to be prepared for the Invid."
"Okay then," said Admiral Breetai. "We will have to discuss this with the Secretary General and the rest of the Security Council."
"Some of our people have not submitted to the leadership of this triumvirate," said the lady in blue. "We will persuade them to at least work with us in this venture."
Ooooooooo
Minutes later, we were back on the shuttle as it flew us back to Moon Base ALuCE.
"I don't trust them," said Lieutenant Sterling. "Even if they look like Musica."
"Do you trust them?" Admiral Breetai asked Musica.
"They have their own agenda, I am sure of it," she replied. "But we need to prepare for the Invid. They may even have spies on Earth."
"They can spy on us?" asked the Russian delegate.
"Yes, through the use of protoculture, they can modify their appearance. We have caught Invid spies in the past."
I stayed silent. The thought of another invasion, coming so soon after the first one, was frightening.
"We will need to rebuild our fleet," said Breetai.
"How is Jack doing?" Sterling asked me. "I know you serve in his battalion."
I remembered she was one of Jack's childhood friends. "He's doing well as can be expected," I said. "He is able to at least laugh." I briefly remembered a few nights before I went on this diplomatic mission where Jack, a few of the guys, and I went to the Spanish-Italian-Greek-Lebanese fusion restaurant place. "You know, Lieutenant Sterling, if you ever visit Tangier, there's this great restaurant in town. It serves this Italian-Spanish-Greek-Lebanese fusion food."
"That's good," replied the lieutenant. "When his dad died, Bowie and I were with him."
Ooooooo
I returned to the men's BOQ after a routine, somewhat dull workday. It was a few days after I had returned from that diplomatic mission with the Robotech Masters. I sometimes envied Executive Sergeant Wing, as he went out into the field more than I did.
Some of the officers were watching television in the lounge. I noticed that the television was tuned into a news channel. I noticed a black man in his fifties, wearing a Class "C" U.N. Air Force service uniform standing behind the podium. A caption identified him as General Tom Washington, Acting Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces.
"We now have a cease fire with the Robotech Masters," said the general. "As a token of good faith, they released soldiers and civilians whom they captured during the war. We have confirmed the identity of the people whom they released, and we are informing the governments of their countries. I have been in meetings with the Joint Chiefs, the Department of Alien Relations, and the U.N. Security Council on this matter. Let us pray that this will set up a foundation of lasting peace."
I prayed a quick prayer. I wondered if we could trust the Robotech Masters. And I wondered if the Invid would attack us.