Second Lieutenant Arihiso Hamato sat inside the cockpit of his Stonewell Bellcom VFA-6 Alpha veritech, checking the instruments for any last-second warnings.
He had attended that briefing led by senior officers. This was it. This was the battle to liberate Earth from alien occupation.
His heart raced, and he was sweating under his garments. Only about seven centimeters of hull separated him from the vacuum of space. He looked to his left and right, seeing the Alphas, Betas, and the conventional Gryphon fighters.
His job would be to keep the enemy's orbital forces busy while the Space Marines land at Reflex Point, the aliens' stronghold on Earth.
His aircraft was equipped with a technology known as the Shadow, which would make it more difficulty for the enemy targeting systems to lock on to the veritechs. He had heard it was reverse-engineered from the technology of a long-lost alien civilization.
But would it be enough?
He heard the signal to attack.
He flew in formation, the thrusters burning. He looked and saw the signals representing enemy fighters.
He locked on and fired missiles at long range.
"Incoming!" he heard.
He maneuvered and used counter-measures. An enemy missile exploded just a few hundred meters to his portside.
He then saw the enemy. They looked like flying crabs, basically. They kept firing particle and laser beams. A disc-shaped enemy ship opened up like a clam, and more of the crab-like spacecraft flew out.
His mind partially detached. He just kept focusing, blowing away one enemy spacecraft after another. Instinct kicked in. he heard cries for help, and responded to those cries by a barrage of laser fire, dispatching yet another enemy spacecraft into debris. His veritech frequently shifted modes, looking liker a plane, a giant suit of armor, and a plane with legs.
The battle raged on over Earth, the low orbital space filled with fireballs.
It did not seem a long time for Lieutenant Hamato and the other pilots, as well as the officers and crew aboard the robotech war vessels, before beams of light arose from the Earth.
"They're gone," someone said. "The Invid, they just left."
Hamato took a deep breath. He could not believe it.
The Invid just left Earth.
Earth was free after thirteen years.
Arihiso Hamato was still alive.
It is not long before, after receiving the signal from the air boss, that Lieutenant Hamato landed his veritech onto the flight deck of the SDF-4 Liberator.
He opened the canopy and stepped down, setting his feet on the metal deck. Already,maintenance crews went to the Alpha, which had scorch marks and some holes on the fuselage.
He would have to go to the debriefing.
He was still alive to do so.
Ooooooo
"General court-martial now in session," says the bailiff. "The Honorable Jaquan Thompson, Captain, United Nations Spacy, presiding.
"The defense may call its first witness," says Captain Thompson.
"The defense calls Elhaym Potter," says Lieutenant Commander Sari Priyatosh.
An auburn-haired woman walks towards the witness stand. She wears a white sleeveless blouse and a black knee-length skirt. There is a wedding ban with a diamond on her left ring finger. She sits on the seat.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" asks the bailiff.
"I do," she replies.
"State your name for the record," says Commander Priyatosh.
"Elhaym Potter," she replies.
"Present occupation?"
"Cargo ship pilot for Xaos Interstellar; my home port is in Shahal City, on Planet Al Shahal in the Brisingr Globular Cluster."
"Potter, that is your married name, is that correct, ma'am?"
"Yes, it is."
"You were known as Elhaym van Zant nine years ago, is that correct?"
"Yes, that is my maiden name. I married five years ago."
"Congratulations on your marriage, Mrs. Potter," says the defense counsel. "Do you know the defendant, Commander Arihiso Hamato?"
"Yes," she replies. "I had not seen him in seven years, I think, but I did know him."
"How do you know the defendant?"
"I was a veritech combat aviator in the United Nations Spacy and I served with him."
"Ma'am, did you fly combat in the Battle of Reflex Point?"
There is silence in the room for a few seconds, and Potter's eyes are now like a window into memories nine years old. "Yes, I did," the witness replies. "I was assigned on board the SDF-4 Liberator and then-Lieutenant Hamato was my wingman. It was my first combat sortie."
"What was your experience during that battle, ma'am?"
"In a word, frightening. You can practice in the sims and against programmed drones for over three hundred hours; but when it is for real, against enemy war machines trying to kill you, it's different. I couldn't lock on to a single enemy fighter. I just kept trying to keep myself from getting killed. I saw laser beams and missiles fly right past me. I was hit, and had to act just to stay in control. I had bandits on my six three times. Hamato was the one who dispatched the enemy fighters behind me.:"
"Defense introduces into evidence transcripts of the Battle of Reflex Point maintained in the Spacy archives," says Priyatosh.
Lieutenant Commander Michael Sarakian nods; the trial counsel had seen the communications transcripts.
"Is it fair to say that Commander Hamato saved your life, Mrs. Potter?" asks the defense counsel.
"Yes," answers the former veritech space combat aviator.
"And is it fair to say that Arihiso Hamato risked all to save you?"
"Objection," says Commander Sarakian. "Witness can not testify as to the state of mind of the defendant at the time of the battle."
"Sustained," replies the judge. "There is no need for Mrs. Potter to testify to this court-martial that those who participated in the Battle of Reflex Point put all on the line."
"I have no further questions, your Honor," says Commander Priyatosh.
"Your witness," Captain Thompson says to the trial counsel.
"First of all, Mrs. Potter, the people of Earth, and the descendants of Earth, owe gratitude to you for risking all to free the planet," Sarakian says to the witness.
"Why thank you, Commander," replies Elhaym Potter.
"Ma'am, before you went out to liberate Earth, your superiors briefed you on what they knew."
"Yes, that's right. We needed to know the game plan, our part."
"and in turn, superiors need accurate information from their subordinates, is that right, Mrs. Potter?"
"Yes," she replies. "Not just in the military, but in the civilian workforce as well. I rely on accurate informations so I can fly cargo ships to worlds and space habitats safely and on time."
"And if false reports are sent to superiors?"
"Objection, your Honor," says Priyatosh. "Witness can not know if the reports in question are false."
"She was an officer in the Spacy and flew in the Battle of Reflex Point, sir," says Sarakian. "She can be considered an expert on the importance of information."
"Our leaders would be misled in their decision-masking," says Mrs. Potter. "In the military, it could result in losing a battle or even a war."
"No further questions, your Honor," says the trial counsel.
"Witness may step down," says Captain Thompson. "You may call your next witness."
Elhaym Potter steps down, exchanges a look with Commander Hamato, and then steps out of the courtroom.
"The defense calls Marie Crystal," says the defense attorney.
Lieutenant General Marie Crystal of the United Nations Air Force, holding her peaked cap in her right hand, walks to the witness stand. She wears a short-sleeved light-blue collared blouse and a dark blue skirt. Three stars are embroidered on each shoulderboard, and colored ribbons pinned to her blouse tell the story of her service.
"Ma'am, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" asks the bailiff.
"I do, Sergeant," replies the general.
"State your name for the record," says Commander Priyatosh.
"Marie Crystal," the witness replies.
"State your rank and current post, please."
"Lieutenant General, United Nations Air Force, presently commander of the 6th Air Force, headquartered in Air Base Baku, whose mission is to support the aerial defense of U.N. Member states on the planet Earth."
"Do you have experience in veritech combat space aviation, ma'am?"
"Yes, Commander, I do. I flew the VF-8 Logan and the AGACS in defense of Earth when what was left of the Robotech Masters invaded in order to find the secrets of protoculture- it wasn't open source twenty years ago, unlike today. I also flew cover to evacuate key personnel from Earth. Due to my performance as a veritech aviator, I was awarded two distinguished flying crosses. Of course, when I was promoted to major, I started spending half of the workday siting at a desk. I guess that's why they call it major, because that's when the major paperwork begins."
"General, were you assigned to chair a commission convened to investigated the death of Lieutenant Hyun Seuk?"
"Yes, I was. We collected documentation and statements and even requested testimony, including the testimony of the defendant here, Commander Arihiso Hamato."
"Did your Commission conclude, based on the evidence, that Commander Hamato was responsible for the accident that claimed Lieutenant Seuk's life, ma'am?'
"Yes."
"Did the Commission recommend that Commander Hamato be court-martialed for perjury and falsifying evidence?"
"Yes. The evidence showed that the commander lied to us. We recommended that His Excellency make the decision to convene the court-martial because the Supreme Commander's son was involved in the accident."
"Did the Commission recommend that the Secretary General convene a court-martial to try Commander Hamato for dereliction of duty and manslaughter, ma'am?"
"That is right, Commander."
"And how did you vote on those recommendations, ma'am.
"I voted against charging the commander with dereliction of duty and manslaughter," answers General Crystal. "Obviously, a solid majority of the Commission, as well as His Excellency the Secretary General, disagreed with me."
"Please explain why you were against the dereliction of duty and manslaughter charges, ma'am."
"The evidence was not there to support it," answers the Air Force general. "As I understand the charges against Commander Hamato, he was derelict in his duty in sending unqualified pilots to a training exercise. However, dereliction of duty requires more than simply making a bad judgment call. It requires going beyond reason."
"But did not Lieutenant Commander Zeppel testify to the Commission that he objected to Lieutenant Hunter being sent to the debris field exercise, ma'am?"
"He most certainly did. However, judgment calls have to be made. And while, I understand his reason for not wanting to send up Lieutenant Hunter, in the end, sending up Lieutenant Hunter was not so unreasonable. There were no red flags regarding the lieutenant's performance, nothing to indicate that it was totally unreasonable for Commander Hamato to conclude that Lieutenant Hunter is ready."
"But what makes you an expert on what constitutes dereliction of duty, ma'am?"
Commander Sarakian looks at the general.
"Commander, I have been a commissioned officer for twenty-five years," answers Crystal. "I had to learn on the fly, especially as vacancies in the higher ranks opened up due to combat deaths. So I did have to evaluate the performance of my subordinates. There were several times when I recommended against a subordinate being promoted. I have had to issue nonjudicial punishment for misconduct on many occasions. In my career I have had to convene three special courts-martial- once for dereliction of duty. I do recall that particular sergeant- who had been convicted, by the way- ignored at least three red flag, resulting in an airplane catching fire.
"That doesn't describe Commander Hamato. I did concur with the Council he was responsible. However, responsibility does not always mean dereliction. And because I couldn't conclude he was derelict in his duties, he therefore isn't guilty of manslaughter."
"No further questions."
"Your witness," the judge says to Sarakian.
'General Crystal, it is your belief that Commander Hamato falsified records and committed perjury, is that correct?" asks the trial counsel.
"The evidence presented to the commission establish a strong likelihood, so I concurred with them," she answers.
"So Commander Hamato could have lied to you about ignoring red flags, is that right, ma'am?"
"Objection," says Commander Priyatosh. "Calls for speculation."
"Sustained," says Thompson.
Commander Sarakian looks at the papers before him, including his notepad. "We have no further questions, your Honor," he says.
"You are excused, ma'am," the judge says to General Crystal.
The general stands up. "My flight back to Earth is scheduled to depart twelve hours from now," she says, looking at the wristwatch that she wears on her left wrist. "I might as well check out downtown Tiresia."
"This court-martial will reconvene in two days, at 0930," says the judge.