Macross Fan Fiction ❯ Robotech: Beneath a steel sky ❯ Chapter 5 - "One impact and a lot of trouble..." ( Chapter 5 )

----Chapter 5 ---- “One impact and a lot of trouble…”

 

Responding to the reinforcement requests of the defending fleet, a group of three heavily armed Valkyrie squadrons flew ahead as fast as they could. Armed with significantly large missiles and colored just as red as its national heritage, it was clear that this flight group belonged to the Chinese Air Force. Among a certain communication line, the flight commander with a Chinese accent called out, “”This is Commander Co Ling Cho of the 1st Dynasty Guardian Force - `Shilong Phoenix'. The RDF has notified us that the deployed forces require heavy fire support. My squadron and two additional ones under my command have managed to deploy ahead of time. Can anybody give a situation report of the current battle, Ling Cho - over?””

After several seconds an American voice replied. Although sounding as if he were under terrible stress, there was a sign of thankfulness within his voice that gave him hope, “”Hoo boy - Am I'm glad to some good news, Commander! Sorry for the delay, but -“”, there was an interruption in the transmission, “”- Crap, just lost another three from my squadron! Sergeant 1st class Peerson here - I lost contact our own flight commander and there ain't no chance tellin' where he is, sir! All I can say for a SitRep is that we have suffered losses throughout all squads and that the enemy is slowly gaining the upper hand - Dang, actually, we are in need for heavy reinforcements - But with all needed respect, sir, why are three Chinese battle squadrons responding to a RDF situation? Over!””

“”Have confidence, young pilot””, Commander Ling Cho replied, “”The RDF is doing its best to deploy more squadrons, but they have trouble even trying to send out single units. Calling out in distress, the RDF has proclaimed the state of alert to the next level and has informed several Generals of other nations onboard the SDF-1, including my own superior leader, General Wong, about this threatening situation. Following the orders of our General, my wing was currently stationed onboard one of the four ARMD carriers and was ordered to support the RDF fleet immediately. Although we can assure you that the Chinese Dynasty would never interfere with matters of the RDF, our General was very concerned about the current situation and accepted Admiral Gloval's request for help””.

Another Chinese voice spoke into the commline, “”Kai jin! Ni lo pun ta ho!””

“”Dam-ho””, Commander Ling Cho said back to the voice, perhaps meaning `thank you' or `understood'… At least that was what Peerson thought, “”Sergeant, please inform all units in the battlezone that my squadrons are about to unleash our Lao-Missiles upon the area. Our missiles are set to a high nuclear level in order to suppress the vast numbers of these biological enemies - in hope that these creatures are vulnerable against it. Stay clear of the missiles. Both Veritech hull and HEC suits are highly resistant against nuclear radiation but it is for your own safety not to be near any explosions. Order all units to disengage from the area - Missiles will be launched in ten minutes, so be prepared - Over!””

“”Roger, will do - Nuke `em high, Commander! Over and out!””

 

----

 

As the intense battle took its place, several heavily damaged units already made it back to the active Veritech hangar bays. The whole area was in full chaos since many Valkyries returned severely damaged - most of them seemed as if they just barely made it to land. Some even had destroyed wings, shattered cockpit-glass or even burned up turbines.

 

But during this moment, there was something more important then staring upon the others. As Mick finally managed to unstrap his helmet, he dropped towards his side and hasted to stand up as the cockpit's canopy opened itself Mick. As he stood up and tried to climb over the cockpit consoles of his RW co-pilot, he felt very worried as he saw her lying calm with her head to the side. The feeling was so intense that his hands shook as he tried to climb over. Several groups of medics and other deck operatives were on their way to his Valkyrie group, but he insisted to her check out before.

 

More worried he finally made it to climb over to the bulky backseat, filled with thin glass console-touchpads. Trying not to hurt her, he sat down slightly on her lap, with her legs between his. It was pretty uncomfortable with his suit and the pads over his head, but he was just too desperate and concerned about her health. It took a few seconds until Mick's trembling fingers finally found the detachment mechanism to remove her helmet.

“Oh com' on!”, he said several times trying to get her helmet off. At last, he pulled it off along with a gush of pressured air leaving the suits enviroment - with slight power that nearly made him loose his balance towards the back. Catching his balance again, he managed to lean forward. Astonished at first, he seemed stunned as if he was looking at a ghost. It was the first time for him to see her true face, since the blue glass cover of the helmet did not show much of her all. FoxyRoxy's red hair slipped gently down as her head slowly moved towards her right shoulder.

Her beautiful innocent face was full of sweat that shined in the soft lights of the bay. “”"She is... beautiful... ””" - the only thought that flew threw his confused mind. It was not that he had never seen a woman, despite such beauty in his eyes, but he never realized that his very first job as a pilot of the RDF would bring him such responsibility. Although she was still breathing hard, she did start to become conscious and slowly opened her blue eyes - seeing everything unfocused and double.

“H-Hey… Foxy… Are - Are you ok?”, was all he could ask.

"... Mick...", she said in a low voice.

For a second, Mick felt so relieved that he even hugged her, "T-Thank goodness, you're alive... I thought I lost you..."

Mick was still hugging her, he did not know why - for a short moment, she felt that she was in pure safeness... Slowly remembering what has happened... she said, "I ... tried to fight against it... "

 

"Against what?...", Mick asked, as he let go of her, "Those bugs? Don't worry about that- ` were lucky that we survived. I'm just happy to see you ok... but enough talking... Foxy... stay calm... and don't move a muscle, looks like the red cross guys are coming ..."

Her head laid calm on the back against the seat which really made him worry about her health, “I-I'm sorry I couldn't do any better, Mick…”

Looking down at her, he felt more than overwhelmed about her soft apology toward him, as if she had done total failure. Without thinking, he laid his hand gently against her face and said, “How could I dare to let you apologize for something that was not your fault? Its my fault and I should be the one apologizing for bringing us in such danger…” Her face remained at first surprised, but then she lost consciousness, as if she fell into sleep.

 

At last, they finally reached his and the other group of Valkyries. It took a few moments until Mick managed to climb out of the cockpit as they slowly carried FoxyRoxy down from an elevated platform. Feeling as if his legs were made out of jelly, they shook each time he took a short step downwards.

Pvt. Roxanne Keldon was immediately carried away and the medics carried her away, Mick heard one of them say, “Her lifesigns are stable - We need to bring her and the rest to the district hospital in the Prelodae District asap”.

Left behind in the chaos of the gigantic hall of the hangar bay, Mick's eyes followed the group making their way through, carrying his co-pilot and many other people away. He remained still, right next to his damaged Valkyrie, his mind filled with mixed feelings about a person who was actually a stranger for him - but then again, she gave the impression as if she knew him her life long…

For sure, every single person he saw around him were under full stress as the loud noise around and voices hauled through the whole area. Hundreds of medics, engineers and mechanics ran around, treating pilots and using other vehicles to pull damaged Valkyries away into the repair bays.

What a day…

He had no idea what he was supposed to do next. His squadmates were still busy. Looking at his Valkyrie, he observed his his "newly purchased" VF-1D `Valley-Cat'. Battered up as it was, there was no doubt that this fighter went through heavy punishment… right on its first combat flight. For a few moments, he thought back, trying to remember what happened - especially right after his RW co-pilot dropped out... Mick could not tell when she fainted away since it happened from one moment to another.

 

As he thought back, he noticed something unusual raging out of side of the right turbine, next to several scratches and deep holes that really made him worry how that turbine could have survived itself. Slowly walking closer towards the large fighter, he spotted this long object stuck like a gigantic knife in the skin of his Valkyrie. “”"Must be one of those projectile those thing fired at us..."””, he thought and tried to pull it out. It took him quite some strength to pull out the object. Examining this long object, he said towards himself, "... nearly one meter long... sharp... very hard... It did quite a damage...", looking at the damage it made... through the tough armor of his Valkyrie. Starting to feel strange as he stared at this object, Mick could not move his eyes away from it and he could feel his hand slowly getting weaker and weaker…

 

All the sudden, Mick was harshly woken up from this strange daydream by a hand that gently slapped against the left side of the hardened shoulder protection, which made him drop the shard on the floor. Turning around, he recognized Rooks, who had a slight smile. There was not any need for an explanation, Rooks was only happy that both of them survived.

“Man… what a flight…”, his friend said.

“You bet…”

 

Mick then saw a group of people running to one of the other Valkyries. The group was carrying jackets and scientific suits, on which stood "RDF- Research Dept". "Must be that research team aw-right…", he said. He did feel slightly insulted by the way how these men and women fought their way past others, showing only interest for the Valkyries and the numbers of objects and splattered fluids upon their hulls. “Look at them”, Rooks added, “Must be a gold rush… Maybe they -”

 

Suddenly, both of them heard the loud shout of a familiar person… Looking at each other, they said, “Monk?!” Immediately ignoring whatever the Research Dept. was doing, both of them moved along quickly - wondering what was going on.

From afar, Mick spotted what was happening. As the Valkyrie ahead just parked… with its damaged cockpit glass covered with a thick fluid. Spotting Monk trying to get his seatbelts off anxiously, he could see that he was covered with a red fluid that had the similiarity with the fear expectation… Blood. Monk was doing the exactly the same as Mick did ago - only that he was under shock and out of control. Mick, Rooks and several other pilots tried to run over to help out, but they still were trying to get past frequently blocked ways of the bay personnel. Monk shouted several times “Spades!”, the name of his co-pilot, as he hasted to climb over.

Reaching her finally on her, he threw his helmet towards the back on his seat and tried to take of her's. The surrounding of her cockpit was frightening… blood was everywhere. Looking down slightly, he could not believe his eyes… One of the same sharp objects Mick pulled out of his Valkyrie has penetrated Spade's chest and its end was sticking out as a trail of blood slowly drew a constant line. After taking off her helmet off with the same air pressure settlement, he used his left hand to lift her up slightly and the other behind her head, gently trying to wake her up.

She breathed a few times deeply, but did not open her eyes. “Spades - Please…”, Monk said. From her lips to the edge of her chin, strains of blood ran down. He tried to shake her softly again. “Spades -“, he repeated, with a soft and worried voice that was giving up on hope.

“Ngh…”

 

After hearing a her voice the last time, her head fell lifelessly upon the side of his arm. Several moments went by again as Mick, Rooks and several other pilots finally circled the elevated platform bringing down both Spades and Monk… Just the looks of both of them were terrifying. Although the whole bay was more than loud enough, everybody remained quiet. One of the medics, who checked the lifesigns of Spades, shook his head a few times. Both pilots were bloody… At a certain case, although it was not Monk's blood, his suit was practically painted by the blood of his co-pilot. Under total shock, Mick was even more worried about Monk - Although he was `alive', the looks of his bloody-smeared face gave a different impression. He just sat there with his back against the platform's control unit. Covered by a think blanket, Spades' body is carried away. Looking behind, Mick heard one of the medics mention, “…Pilot Gibbs is in need of immediate psychological care!”

Several of the female co-pilots turned their head away or even hid their face in deep sorrow of their male pilots who only could at least hug and cheer them. Everybody knew that battles would bring its casualties - and there was no chance in telling who would be next… but absolutely nobody every expected such a loss to happen in front of their very own eyes. Monk just sat there, looking down on the ground. He was totally lost… Totally lost in his feelings.

Feeling sorry for him, Helios leaned down next to him and laid his hand against his shoulder.

“I …”, Monk suddenly said quietly, still having his head down, “I tried to protect her - It was my respons… but then that - thing just slammed in… I couldn't… do…”

Hearing a cheerful voice suddenly, Mick turned around and saw Jester walking closer, talking to a group of other pilots who did not seem to sad at all - In fact, they did not even know what just happened.

“Yo, Mick! Man, did you see those bugs - Woohoo!”, Jester said with a victorious face, “They were tough bastards - but they weren't fast enough for me `n' Sparrow! Was all wrong about her - She tagged `em, I banged them.”

This was just not the right moment for celebrating victory… especially when you just survived the devastating retreat.

“Hoo baby, we shot down eight - hear me now and believe me later - eight of those bugs!”, Jester said again and again. He then showed his hands like to planes following each other, “Man, we came in swooping like this, but I did a triple-S plus a 180° swing. Hell-lucky that I didn't do a different move!”

 

All the sudden, Mick was suddenly knocked aside as somebody ran against his side, practically bashing him aside since he was caught off-guard. Surprised by the sudden shoulder-tackle, he looked back and saw a bloody and angry-looking Monk swinging his fist right at Jester's face. Surprised just as Mick was, Jester caught the fist at an unlucky spot, which set him flying against the side of the big fighter jet - fortunately managing to catch his balance, although overwhelmed by the sudden attack.

“You god-damn hotshot!”, Monk shouted out loud - so loud that even several mechanics around them interrupted what they were doing.

“M-Monk, what the hell -?”, Jester said as he looked up. The side of his lip bled as he rubbed the side of his face.

“What the hell do you think this god-damn flying is all about, huh?!”, Monk screamed aggressively, “This ain't no game, punk!” The whole group of women stepped back as they were shocked by his rage…

Just before things went out of control, both Mick and another rookie pilot went towards him and pushed him back, right before he attacked Jester once more. Both pushed him back as they grabbed each of Monk's sides - and it took much strength trying to push Monk back who was out of control.

As Mick held him back, Helios, who stood further away, shouted, “You two, get Jester out of here!” Immediately reacting to his shout, two from the group pulled Jester away who was overwhelmed by Monk's reaction.

“Damn it, Monk - Calm down!”, Mick shouted a few times as he fought to keep Monk against the side of Valkyrie. Pushing both of them away, Monk stayed where he was. Mick spotted a tear that ran down the side of his face… It was a mix of pain and sorrow that tore his soul…

“You don't know a crap… Jester… You just don't know it…”, Monk said several times as he wiped his face, each time smearing blood around. It was said for everybody to see how their friendship just broke in such manor… He was slowly getting back to normal. Making his way through the group of rookie pilots around him, the circle opened a path for him, letting him go his way…

 

 

----

 

Holding their positions in an “X” formation, the “Red-Dragon” Valkyries floated still in space in guardian mode. Just after ordering all units to target individual areas between the SDF-1, the battle zone and the gigantic bio-ship, Commander Ling Cho reported:

“”To all units, Laos missiles will be launched soon! Prepare for an intensive shockwave. Engaged friendly units should be assisted as soon as possible! We have altered a few warhead values to super high yield shockwave to receive prompt results, so communications will be down for several hours unless you leave the contaminated areas! Fleet command, do we have confirmation that the majority of our units are out of the red zone?””

Fleet Commander Lisa Hayes' voice was slightly garbled but still understandable, “”Affirmative, Shilong-One. A few are still engaged by a few enemy units but the majority of its fleet is staying within the red zone. Fire immediately, before the enemy reacts! Fleet command, over””

“”Gom ji?!””, Commander Ling Cho asked in his language - and received several confirmations.

“”Ji-Gah!””

 

Dozens of very big missiles dispatched from the sides of the “Red-Dragons”, leaving a trail of smoke as they flew ahead.

 

“”Lao Missiles on the way - All units, prepare for heavy shockwaves in a few minutes!””

 

----

 

A few minutes passed by…

As Mick walked slowly towards the access lift, he felt a strange vibration under his feet that shook several times in irregular intervals. Although the shaking became slightly harder, he continued his path, keeping his eyes out on any mecha wanting to walk by. His mind was somewhere else- again.

 

----

 

Rear bridge section…

Seeing far away explosions and bright yellow-orange bubbles expanding wide upon the battle area, it was clear that the Chinese squadrons have deployed their nuclear weapons upon the battle zone. For the moment, the explosions lit up the whole bridge, which was actually still operating in the darkness. Admiral Gloval, who was though not pleased to see such weapon in action, had slight hope. The nuclear radiation was so intense that it totally covered the view to the gigantic bio-ship like a wall pure light. Receiving a recall message, Commander Hayes turned around and reported, “Admiral, Commander Co Ling Cho reports full deployment of their armaments and have confirmed that vast numbers of enemy units have been destroyed due to the intense levels of radiation. Several deployed squadrons have suffered losses during the battle and require reinforcements. A few launching bays of reported that they are operational at average level to deploy Veritechs, too. In order to uphold our lines, I will relocate our fleet to the bow of the SDF-1 in order to re-establish our defensive lines. From what Ling Cho can see, it seems as if the enemy is highly vulnerable upon nuclear radiation and has disengaged from the battle zone as well.”

“Area-of-effect is expanding further, Admiral”, Vanessa remarked, “Although it will not reach our positon, the array is unable to penetrate the contaminated sector due to its operational status.”

Gloval looked straight ahead and took a short look at the remaining bright bubbles of the nuclear explosions slowly expanding. The explosions were so bright that it was impossible to see the gigantic mothership-like object, despite the fact that the beast was totally covered by the mass of pure energy.

“Let's hope he is right…At least we have gained precious time”, the Admiral replied… but something disturbed him. Something told him that although the enemy had such power and suffered heavy losses… It was just too easy.

Noticing something, Vanessa Leeds also turned around and said, "Admiral Gloval? There is something about the name...", she said, "... that name of the ship, which the Protoculture Database said... what was that name...?"

 

Gloval looked to her side and said "... you mean... " - He could not remember the name.

"'Invid Articlatis Maexlaeaa'... is the name, Commander...", Lisa added.

 

"Yes, that name...", Vanessa explained, "I remember I studied deciphering and decoding the Zentraedi language on Earth... I don't know what "Invid" or "Articlatis" is, but I do know that "Maexlaeaa" is... it means "Exodus"..."

Admiral Gloval leaned back into his seat, "Are you sure?”, she nodded, “Hmm, very well... I say we classify the enemy as "Invid" and the enemy ship as "Invid-Exodus"..."

 

"The squadrons which have returned have had quite many casualties...”, Lisa reported further, “The research team suggested that in order to understand the nature of the new enemy, they would need to start decoding and translating the Protoculture Database for the aspects of this object... including receiving any possible materials from them..."

"Hmm... And what about the newly advised special rookie squadrons?", Gloval asked.

"Major Bronco reports that although the RW co-pilots were quite successful throughout the first moments of the battle - as his report says, they have proven that they can be effective when it comes to multiple engagements, even though they are rookies who have never been in such situation. This changed when the RW co-pilots started to show symptoms of the `Aerospace-Syndrome', making it impossible for them to continue. They suffered minimal losses but he sees that these groups truly are efficient."

"I understand, let the rookies rest, I think they're abilities will be needed it... but until then, they need to recover - Contact Dr. Vanderman, I think it is important to improve their Valkyries at once after the main repairs."

"Yes, Admiral...", she replied.

 

Just as Gloval gave his orders, the brightness suddenly disappeared, throwing a blanket of darkness over the whole bridge once again. Shocked by the sudden event, several voices shouted - among them many of women. As everybody looked ahead, they spotted the titanic profile of the `Invid-Exodus' mothership forming itself through the various nuclear bubbles…

 

Vanessa Leeds, who had a very limited sensor detail, could see that the beast was piercing through the contaminated battle zone as if it were nothing. " Admiral! I'm afraid we have a serious problem! The alien mothership has gained greatly on speed and is proceeding through the hazard fields of the area!"

Looking upon her screen, Gloval spotted the object flying through the area that was full of garbled fields and vast interferences, which represented the fields of the dangerous nuclear emissions. His eyes widened as the vessel punched right through the fields as if it were nothing - which brought him to the immediate conclusion that the bio-ship itself was a lot more resistant against nuclear radiation than expected, even though most of its units have disintegrated. As the gigantic beast charged through the vast fields, waves of nuclear energy whipped along its hull, showing no effect at all.

 

“Range: 4.3 kilometers and approaching SDF-1 at a very high speed, sir!”, Vanessa added.

 

Officer Kim Young turned around fast, "Hostile ship now in defensive system range, sir! Gunnery station is standing by!"

"Destroids report that their missile artillery units are in position and ready to fire for full strike...”, Claudia added to Kim's remark, “Remaining turrets ready to fire!"

 

"Fire at will! Have all units fire at once! They must stop the ship at all costs!", Gloval shouted, hoping for this last resort.

"Yes sir!", both Claudia and Kim replied and opened channels to the battalions, "To all artillery units... Engage at will! I repeat ! Engage at will!"

A quick reply came back, "That's a roger, Bridge Command!"

 

Again and again, all missile units unleashed several lethal and deadly barrages ahead, all targeted upon the hostile ship... From the bridge, it was possible to see thousands of lines striking ahead from every possible area of the SDF-1's deck. After a few seconds, they could see various numbers of explosions - practically every missile hit their target... again a few seconds passed by... Claudia used her console to close in on the structure of the "Invid-Exodus".

 

"...Sir! The missiles were ineffective... Not even minor damage upon its hull", she shouted with an astonished voice. Several shots, beams and other types of weapon systems were fired upon the upcoming menace which already became wider and wider as it came closer… Still pulling streams of nuclear waste upon its hull. A few moments went by as Gloval ordered to continue firing.

 

"The alien object is 2.2 kilometers away - and is gaining more and more on velocity!" Vanessa added loudly. Admiral Gloval started to sweat... Normally, such weapons would at least tear a large portion of the hull off a large Zentraedi ship... but this time, the target was not Zentraedi. Taking a short thought back, Vanessa started to see something that resembled out of the current situation and a reason that could explain what caused this situation.

 

"Admiral Gloval!", she said, "I think I know what it is up to..."

The Admiral nodded, showing that she had his full attention.

"Yes - sir, do you remember what the bio-ship tried to do when it came close to the Zentraedi vessel?", she asked.

Officer Sammie Porter's voice spoke, rather quiet, but hearable, "It was trying to 'eat it'", or?"

 

Both Claudia and Admiral Gloval nodded… but then, Gloval dropped his shoulders, understanding what she was trying to say. Although the beast was not large enough to swallow the SDF-1 whole, it was surely going to do something alike. The situation was critical...

The old man understood now what Vanessa was trying to say, "It can't be…”

“It tried to … `swallow' … the whole Zentraedi vessel… I fear that we might experience the same, although the SDF-1 is just as large as the beast…”

Not wasting another second, Admiral Gloval shouted, “Collision alert throughout all decks! Everybody must be prepared!"

 

Shocked by the sudden threat, everybody throughout the SDF-1, including the bridge crew immediately broke the silence. Every seat within the bridge was fitted with special seat-belts offering much protection and shock-absorption… but due to the current circumstances, more than half of bridge crew was chaotic, many trying to get themselves to safety. Many bridge operatives ran back and forth and many more bumped into each other due to their panic.

 

“Officer Porter, divert any free power to the inertial stabilizers - If we are threatened to suffer an impact, we must be assure that we do not suffer from the impact's effect upon us all!”

“Yes, Admiral! Proceeding!”, she shouted back…

 

“”Admiral Gloval, sir? Admiral Gloval, come in - Admiral””, Commander Travis' voice called over to the commanding seat of the Admiral. Picking up the cordless communicator, he immediately asked, “Gloval, what is it, Travis?”

“”Sir, we got a serious problem - The medics are still unable to get Navigator Lindsay back to consciousness! We are running out of time… With your order, sir, we would `detach' her aggressively with direct injections!””

“Denied, Commodore - We cannot afford to endanger her health… She is far too important for us to risk her mental health… Secure her seat-belts and try to get everybody and yourselves to safety, that's an order…”

“”… Yes, sir!””, Commodore Travis confirmed and ended the transmission.

 

Standing next to the Navigation Control station with several other medics, Commodore Travis just laid his communicator to the side of his belt. Just as he ended his conversation, one of the medics pulled out a fluid-injection gun and said, “Commodore, I've prepared the injection! If she does not react, we might -“

 

But Travis rose his hand and interrupted his speech, “Sorry, Doctor, but you shall not proceed with the injection - Admiral's direct order…”

“But - Sir, we need to get -“

“No `buts', Doc, his order was clear - If we endanger her health, we might be stuck in space forever without anybody able to control the SDF-1… Strap her seat-belts and shoulder-harnesses on and get yourselves also somewhere put!”

 

Although the medics were not agreed with Gloval's order, they still did as Travis said and quickly strapped Lindsay with her seat-belts. She did not move at all…

 

Back at the rear section, Vanessa shouted, “Incoming vessel has bypassed the 2 kilometer perimeter!”

“To all mobile units onboard the deck of the SDF-1!”, Bridge Commander Grant broadcasted, “Impact is imminent! I repeat - impact is imminent! Fortify yourselves immediately and engage total foothold!”

“Available power is being allocated to the inertial stabilizer generators now - The fields though are unstable… I cannot assure that they will provide full functionality before the impact, sir!”

 

 

----

 

Life took its normal way in Macross City... Many cars and people moved through the thriving city - having no idea what was going on. Robert was somewhere in the Macross City deck, lying under a civilian vehicle while performing repairs. There was a radio playing music when its volume was suddenly overlaid by a very loud alert sound along with a voice. Surprised by the sudden noise, he bumped his head under the car, slid out and tried to listen to the voice... Hardly understanding what it was saying, he went over to one of the mechanics next to him. While holding his hand on the spot he bumped his head on, he asked, "Hey guys, what on Earth are they screaming?"

 

The mechanics listened shortly, then one of them replied, "Something about some `Collision Alert' thing... "

"Yeah, I think I heard that, too", the other one said.

"Collision.......?", Robert asked...

 

----

 

Somewhere in the Macross City deck, in one of the RDF Veritech-Marine barracks:

Mick was in his quarters, lying in bed, at first - thinking about his first flight and his first battle. Every single event and moment flew like pictures through his mind - Everything, from holding his cockpit controls to the hundreds of symbols that moved along his screens, but up to a certain point, his mind focused on FoxyRoxy. Ever since he survived to land and bring her back safety, he just could not get her out of his mind. "I hope she is doing fine...", he said to himself.

 

Mick's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud and familiar voice - the same one that woke him up once before his first flight.

 

“"Attention! Attention!.."”, the female voice said out loud from his room speakers.

"Not YOU again!" Mick shouted out angry and tried to hold his ears.

 

The female voice spoke further:

“"To all on board the SDF-1! COLLISION ALERT! I repeat! COLLISION ALERT! Search the nearest shelter or open area, lay down on the ground and cover your head! Avoid closed areas such as construction sites, complexes or any other similar area !"” - then it repeated again...

 

Mick felt relieved at first, not thinking about the words... "Oh thank goodness... I'm not called for another flight...", he grumbled and closed his eyes, ".... Hmpf... stupid collision alert..."

 

---

 

The mechanic looked up again and listed to the voice, "Umm... yup, some collision alert thing, or sumthing..."

Robert made a sudden confused-looking face and said, "COLLISION ?!!"

 

---

 

Mick's eyes sprang open, surprisingly - and shouting to himself, " ... COLLISION?!!!"

 

----

 

 

"Yup...", the mechanic said and slid again back under the car he was repairing, "Colli...", he paused thought a second, then quickly slid back out, "- Collision ALERT ?!"

"Uh-oh.........", Robert said to himself, feeling as if something was about to happen...

 

Indeed - All the sudden, an impact occurred... So hard, heavy and violently that it was felt throughout the whole ship. Robert and his fellow mechanics were sent flying a few meters through the workshop. While the other had a hard but obstacle-less landing, Robert was sent sliding towards a car, head first. He slammed his head very hard against it.

Right after slamming his head, a hammer that was lying next to a toolbox on top of the car, landed besides his head, barely missing him...

 

"Damn, am I lucky.... man did that...", Robert said, but then felt something very hard hitting his head and is knock-out to unconsciousness... The toolbox, unfortunately, also fell down, and landed right on his head...

 

----

 

Mick managed to hold on a bar, before he was sent flying throughout his compartment unlike the rest of the loose things in the room.

 

----

 

Nearly every person onboard the SDF-1 was caught off-guard. The "Invid-bioship" collided into the frontal region of the battlefortress, swallowing the whole Reflex-Cannon like a snake trying to swallow a prey larger than its own head. Although the impact was only brief and perhaps less than a few seconds, it nonetheless has caused major chaos throughout the whole ship.

 

----

 

Alert sounds were everywhere as several minutes went by.

Lying with his back against the corner of his room, Mick was still surprised at what just happened. He rubbed his face as he got up from the floor. A few things like pens and other loose things fell down from him. Recovering from his pain, he said shortly, "I wonder who's responsible for this..." - His legs were a bit shaky as he stood, but he was slowly calming down. Suddenly, the door of Mick's quarter opened. It was Rooks, with some blood on his head.

 

"Hey, Mick! Are you ok?!", Rooks asked hysterically.

Mick looked back at him for a short second, "I should be the one asking you that question...", he replied back, "Darn it... Can you tell me what the hell that was?!"

"Dunno - Everybody here is running back to the access lift, maybe we should do the same - Pretty bad out there, man… Crashes everywhere", Rooks said back to him and wiped some of the blood from his forehead, "- I think we better check up with Bronco..."

 

Just as the words "check up" left his lips, something made 'click' in Mick's mind.

"You better go ahead with the others... There is something I have to take of... Don't worry about me, we'll meet up on that deck", Mick said to Rooks, putting on his flight suit.

"Um alright - Fine... but where're you goin'?"

"No time for talkin' - Gotta get someone... See ya up at the deck", Mick said back to him, leaving in hurry.

"Wha...? But where you're...", Mick left the room, heading for the next elevator, "... going?"

 

----

 

The Bridge...

Besides a few damaged consoles, many things were thrown ahead. A majority of operatives and officers were slightly wounded due to the fierce impact since they did not make it on time to strap on themselves. Sammie Porter was lying on the floor of the rear bridge section. Her head throbbed as she slowly to open her eyes. As they opened, she recognized Admiral Gloval, without his officer's cap, and two other medics above her. Just as she tried to move, she felt a sudden pain in her shoulder, "Ahh... my shoulder... it hurts.... I can't move my arm... it hurts so much..."

 

"Sorry about the pain - We've just snapped your shoulder back in, Officer Porter, so it's going to hurt for a while", one of the medics explained, "It looks like you didnt't have much time to fasten your seat belts...”, and pulled out an an injection gun filled with a painkiller capsule, “Hold still, I have to give you a shot, it should help against the pain...”

She felt the needle piercing slowly through her shoulder and bit her teeth together, " ...Ouch!”, but after a few seconds, the pain started to slowly fade away. The pain was quite a shock but as the painkiller did its work, she started to feel more calm and better.

 

"I hope you are all right... You did a good job, Officer Porter. If you had not managed to divert sufficient power to all inertial stabilizer generators just on time, we would have suffered a lot more casualties - but next time, please strap your seat-belts when ordered…", Gloval said and helped her up. Asking directly, her commander asked, "Can you return to your station, Officer Porter?"

"... No problem sir, I think I can still carry on...", Sammie said back to him with a slightly painfilled voice - and limped back into her seat, after picking up the holo-image of a certain Valkyrie pilot. Slowly remembering what happened, just a second before she managed to raise the efficiency of the stabilizer to happen the negative physical effect of the collision, she turned her seat towards the direction of the Admiral… Just before she thrown out of her seat since she was not strapped. Sammie nearly flew between Lisa and Claudia…

"Good... good, keep up the work”, the Admiral said to both medics and returned to his seat. Gloval himself was fine although the impact was just as worse as the landing they did on the frozen Macross Island. Taking a short look around him, many of the bridge officers were slightly disorientated, but did not have any heavy injuries - Fortunately. Several screens ahead were fuzzing…

 

As Gloval sat back down upon his seat, he found his officer's cap lying on the floor. Although he felt slightly weary, he was eager not to call any medic. There was just no time for resting now… Right after he fitted the cap upon his head again, he leaned back, saying in his usual deep voice, “Full damage report..."

 

"Damage report in progress, sir...", Kim replied, as she gained more and more information about the status along with a mainframe of the SDF-1, which revealed many hotspots and other malfunction.

"Sir”, Commander Hayes said, as she tried getting her console online, “I am unable to receiving any reports or signals from our units... My console seems to have a few problems...", which kept fuzzing several times. Claudia spoke, while having her hand on her shoulder, "I still have contact to the Destroid Battalions... They say that the bio-ship seems to be stuck on the frontal part of the ship... Several battle groups were either knocked away or totally crushed by the beast's body…"

 

Sammie spoke, "Admiral, I - I've received a report from all decks... It seems as if we have major casualties throughout the whole civilian population…"

Over a short voice message, one of the flight deck personnel said, “"Sir, we've lost contact to our fleet... We are trying to re-establish the uplink, but it'll take a while - Amosin out"”

 

"Sir, damage report complete... ", Officer Kim Young said, "Macross City deck.. Districts "Habitation Ring North", "Spearhead", "Parisa Square", "Diamond cross" and many others have sustain damage. We have reports of many accidents in the city - Emergency crew and Law-Enforcements are en route to support.”

“Sensor Array totally offline, Admiral”, Vanessa added, “I cannot tell if the system is heavily damaged, but we would need a maintenance team to check out the secondary radar dish so we can at least regain surveillance and fleet information.”

 

Just as Vanessa ended her speech, Kim looked at a strange image of camera showing a live view of the lower deck under the Macross City Deck, “Sir - The Deck under the Macross City Deck seems to be... raining? From what I can detect, we have a severe water line breach throughout all decks. Seven of our main water lines have suffered heavy damage from the impact, sir. It seems as if the main water lines is pouring heavily into the lower decks... Vital systems throughout the ship such as Life- and Water-Support are still operational, nonetheless. I guess the water is still circulating throughout the ship... Unfortunately, we have totally lost contact to the people in the Under-Deck… We require -”

 

"Thanks Officer Young, that's enough for now... I will get back to you to check through the rest", the Admiral said, interrupting her report…

Kim Young turned back to her screen, looking a little mad, "Yes sir."

Gloval turned around again and looked towards the front - Kim turned herself to Sammie Porter and whispered, "I hate it when he does that!"

Sammie leaned over, not really listening to what she just said - instead she whispered back, "He seems a little bit worried..."

Kim took a short look towards the side of the Admiral... Indeed, something seem to trouble him...

"Yes, your're right...", she whispered and leaned back towards her console.

 

“”Admiral Gloval? This is Commodore Travis””, Travis' voice said over a commline from Gloval's seat. Gloval pressed a button on his seat and said, “Admiral Gloval here, are you fine, Commodore?”

“”Oh, um - Yes sir, was lucky… But sir, this might be sound strange, but Navigator Lindsay is back to consciousness…””

Claudia turned her head a bit to the side as she heard the name of Kim's older sister…

“Really?”, Gloval asked, “Is she alright?”

“”Yes… and no… Admiral - We're not really sure… Although we were able to remove her from the NavCon station, she seems lost - Somewhat in total confusion, perhaps shock… The medics cannot explain. Physically, she seems to be alright, though. She tried to say something but we can't understand her… Until then, we are forced to remove her from the station, making it impossible to control the SDF-1””

“Bring her immediately to the sick bay - We must assure that she is alright!”

“”Yes sir - wait - Ok, the medics are taking her away now, she just fainted… Continuing with my duty, Commodore Travis, out””

 

As a few minutes went by, two hideous persons of bridge looked towards the front at the same time, right through the `shell' of the bridge, staring upon the beast that has leeched itself upon the frontal area of the SDF-1… Although they only suffered slight pain, they both knew that that was only a small cost for their secret operation… and as they shortly smiled, they knew that everything was running as planned…

 

----

 

The Macross City deck consists of various numbers of large districts. The "Sterntaler District" belonged to one of the largest district and lies at the northern border, also known as the “northeastern sector” of SDF-1. The workshop, where Robert works, also lies in this area...

 

Slowly coming back to himself, Robert woke up with an intense pain upon his forehead - as if he volunteered in running against a wall - head first. The other mechanics stood next to him.

"Hey Rob! Are you alright?", one of them asked.

"Think so...", he said back to them and laid his hand on his head,"... but my head is killing me... Ou- what hit me...?"

Taking a short look to the side, everybody shortly stared at an open red toolbox, with several tools laying in front of it, "Looks like your toolbox landed on your head...", the other one replied back.

"Grr…”, Robert grumbled, That's the last time I put so many tools inside..."

 

The three men started to hear several many ambulance sirens driving past their workshop outside...

"Just give me a sec, guys... ", Robert added, "Gotta recover a bit...", and kept his back leaned against the car.

"Sure, just stay there”, one of them said and lifted himself. Taking a short look around, he spotted total chaos in the workshop. Several tools, mechanical parts and other things have been thrown to the floor,” - Just look at this mess..."

"Do you think some Zantraedi or how you call `em did this ?", the other mechanic asked.

"Dunno, but it must have been something really big...”, the other man said, “- and heavy..."

 

-----

 

Somewhere not far away from the workshop, several civilians were taking care of damages and looking for any injured survivors, since the emergency crews were still on the way. Far to the north was a large group of people near a construction site who noticed many holes upon a wall and in the ground - To their surprise.

 

"Whoa! Look at that hole!", one of them said.

"Yeah, it's large... but what a weird hole! Look at the shape.... very irregular...", another one said.

"Strange...", the first one said, moving slowly closer to one of the holes, "Hey, aren't these walls made of Hyper, er, Hyper... Y'know, the hardest material ever found...Look there's some fluid on it..."

One of the women came closer and asked, "Can you see something?"

 

The first one took a closer step forward towards the hole in the wall... "Nah, it's too dark... Wait... I think I can see something! It's... some kind of red shining things..."

"What?!"

 

The man could hear sounds coming his way... first "blubbing sound"... then three "splat" sound along with the sounds of arrow-shots. Almost too fast for the eye, three rather sharp-looking dark-blue projectiles flew right into him. The man fell down, full of blood...

"Oh my God!", the other man shouted, looking at the terrifying wounded man...

 

A number of six to seven feet tall snake-like life-forms, with two claw-like arms, started slithering out the holes... Astonished by their looks, he fell to the ground...

 

"Get OUT OF HERE! GET HELP!!! GET ...", he shouted towards the lady, then received hits from multiple projectiles... She turned away and ran as fast as she could... Screaming, knowing that the pure death was following her. The other civilians saw her coming, crying for help... along with a hoard of unknown creatures behind her...

 

----

 

A few minutes have passed by on the bridge...

As the crew was calming down and speculating about the "Invid-Exodus" stuck upon the bow of the SDF-1, Claudia Grant's intercom-telephone rang with an "urgent" tone. The Bridge Officers looked towards her direction, as she lifted the phone from the top.

"I wonder what that call for...", Sammie whispered towards Kim.

 

"Bridge Commander Claudia Grant?"

“…”

“What?! It can't be!” , Claudia said out loud with a surprised face, "WHAT do you mean.... ? ......... YES.... Yes, assistance is on the way!"

"What is it, Claudia?!", the Admiral asked anxiously, "Has an explosion occurred inside the ship?"

 

Talking into the phone, she demanded the person on her line to repeat his urgent statement and resettled the line on loud speakers... clipping a few buttons up in order to make the transmission loud enough, she also activated the bridge speakers. Many crewmen stopped what they were doing as they heard both voices.

"Line is up... you may speak!"

 

The other voice spoke:

“"The northern part of Macross City Deck is under attack by unknown lifeforms! Many civilians have been killed! Pl-Please help””, the voice sounded out of breath, “”Send us help! ... Oh no! One of those things heading straight for me! … AHHHHHH!!"”

 

The whole bridge crew was astonished.

"Policeman! Come back! ....", Claudia shouted back, but received no answer ... "Policeman! Come back!”, but the voice did not reply a single word - Only helpless shouts of other people. Ending the transmission, Claudia laid the phone - Her face was filled with fear…

“A-Admiral”, she stuttered, “We - We have a security breach, an intruder situation among the northern districts of the city…”

 

Gloval suddenly stood up .... "That is what that blasted thing is up to!"

 

Before he could say another word, Sammie suddenly spoke up, "Good news, Sir! The main Communication Array is back operational again! Receiving more comm-lines numerous requests for support from the entire ship!"

One of the flight deck officers sent over a short voice message, "”Sir! Contact to our fleet has been re-established.... They require immediate assistance as well!"”

 

"I am declaring the status for `STATE OF EMERGENCY'!", Gloval said out loud, making sure that every person on the bridge can hear him, "I WANT SOLDIER BATTALIONS, ARMORED DIVISIONS, ATTACK AND ANY POSSIBLE DEFENSE GROUP TO HEAD TO THE DECK! ACTIVATE ALL DEFENSIVE FORCES! WE MUST RESCUE THE CIVILIANS AT ALL COSTS!"

 

"Yes sir! Commencing internal enforcements to respond to the emergency areas!", Commander Grant replied, taking the order with full seriousness. She pressed a few keys and contacted the Command-deck-for-internal-Security, - short the "CDS", which resides right next to the Flight-Deck-Command section just below the main bridge.

This section deals with operation of military units inside the SDF-1. These military units generally consist of soldiers, troops, armored vehicles, -such as tanks, trucks and many more-, medical support, specialist troops, aerial combat vehicles and others. The Bridge usually transmits orders to the CDS, the orders are then sent down to the ground units by operatives using their communication and internal navigation consoles. Each operative is always in contact with their designated team-commander, always advising them with new orders.

 

SDF-1 Operative Sarah Helena Capricorn was just a 3rd class Deck-Corporal. Although she was low-ranked, she had the same authority to command any troops like any other officers, no matter how highly ranked the soldier may be. She normally stayed in full contact with soldier-squads' commanders. She was quiet and checking her console, when she was surprised und scared by Chief Hendricks, Field Commander.

 

"Corporal Capricorn!", he said to her out loudly. "The Soldier Battalions have been sent out to engage the enemy! You will in charge of the 423rd Pershing Rifles! Navigate them to the emergency area! Understood?!"

"Y- ye- yes... Chief... ! Sending orders", she replied nervously.

 

-----

 

Each district has at least three active fast-reaction army barracks, always ready for combat...

The 423rd Pershing Rifles was a platoon of 144 ground soldiers, trained for field combat. Most of them were former soldiers who survived the Third World War back on Earth. Major Carl Goodings, was at one of these barracks, outside, and standing in front rows of soldiers of the 423rd, in military style. He spoke in a loud voice and as he held a briefing his troops:

 

“OK GIRLS AND BOYS! LISTEN UP! We've got a tough situation going on at the Sterntaler Sector! The civilians are under attack by unknown forces of alien lifeforms!”, he shouted as he walked back and forth in front the rows, “We must rescue and protect them at all costs! Evacuation trucks and other vehicles are on their way there! Your mission is to cover them while they rescue who we can.... We are about to face an unknown enemy... We have neither any information about its numbers, nor its strength... and I don't know if anyone of us will be successful... but never forget, that there are lives to rescue... It is our duty to protect these lives and to eliminate any hostiles! OK SOLDIERS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR ORDERS ?!"

"YES SIR!", they all shouted.

 

"GOOD", Major Goodings shouted, "THEN LET'S GET OUR GEAR! WE'VE GOT A JOB TO DO!"

 

All soldiers ran to a camp nearby, where they received their equipment, such as vests, armor, rifles and so on. Major Goodings was in charge "Squad one", which contained 18 soldiers under his command. Ready for combat, they immediately entered trucks, aircrafts and other vehicles ready to head into the combat. Goodings' squad and a few others started heading their way to the Sterntaler District.

 

The Major spoke again: “Troops! Listen up, so far seen, the enemy life-forms seem to be projectile-shooting creatures. They are fast, about 6 to 8 feet tall and dangerous... so stay sharp!"

Again, the troops shouted, "Yes Sir!"...

 

"One impact and a lot of trouble...", he said to himself quietly...

 

 

----

 

Somewhere in the Macross City deck...

An empty street... Suddenly, boot-steps could be heard... A young man in a dark blue colored RDF-Veritech pilot suit ran around the corner. It was Mick who on his way to the hospital where FoxyRoxy was supposed to be treated. Having no idea how long he ran, he started slowed down - at the same moment he noticed the chaos in the abandoned around him - including corpses lying around. He was sure that the way these people died was definitely did not happen as the impact occurred - just as he spotted he spotted familiar dark-blue projectiles, 10 to 15 centimeters long, but still similar to the larger ones which have damaged his Valkyrie.

He was close to the hospital and he could feel that trouble was up ahead... He saw a rather destructed police car, which had two policemen inside - both dead. Slowly opening the door, he felt slightly disgusted as he saw the dead men lying in there. Taking a short look down, he spotted a gun and a few clips within the belt of the man. Mick decided to take the handgun and ammunition without making a second thought. He lifted himself again and took a look around, he was sure that some threat was around the area… Just the look of the street filled with dead people was a lot more than alerting - But for sure, his path was filled with dead people and whatever made its was through here was on the same path towards the hospital. For sure, he thought, FoxyRoxy was in great danger...

 

Continuing his way, he ran another minute until he reached the last corner of a building, which lead to the hospital, "There's the hospital - just dead ahead - what the... ?!", he said, but then threw himself behind another car when he noticed something else ahead... at the entrance of the hospital...

 

While in cover he looked around the corner and saw two of "creatures" carrying corpses away - Suddenly, one of the corpses, who Mick thought was dead, was not! He kept moving his arm....

"I don't know what those thing are", Mick said, "but I bet my luck that those are the things responsible for these lost lives." He immediately pulled the top part of the gun and then held up it up, aiming the best he could. Taking his chance, Mick shot several times upon both of the creatures, who immediately fell down to the ground, spilling and splattering blue-red fluids from themselves. Mick ran to severely injured man, but just as he got to him, it was too late.

 

"Too late...", he said and looked towards the hospital...,"Roxanne! Gotta find her!"

Mick ran into the hospital and through the halls... always sharp and ready.... holding his gun ready and aiming always down the hall when he passed each corner.

“”"I feel like a cop... Hmm, maybe I should shout and see if anyone shows up..."””, he thought...

"IS ANYBODY HERE ?!!! HELLOOOO ??!!!!", he shouted out loudly. ".... ANYBODY???!!", he repeated twice... then calmed down his voice... "Anybody???" - as he turned around he noticed a sound

"... What the...."

 

Nearly 23 meters away from of him stood a four-legged creature with blood all over it's face... if you can call it "face".

 

"Hoo boy.... bad idea... ", he said, aimed his gun at the creature and pulled the trigger a few times. Only One shot was fired but merely did done nothing to the creature. Pulling the trigger, it made a few *click* sounds - out of ammo...

"Somehow, things like this always gotta happen to me..."

Having no time to reload his gun, he slowly thought it was time for a plan B...

The creature grumbled and showed his teeth - sharp and unstraight.

"Crap, I think it's angry now…"

 

The beast started to walk towards him. Mick did not waste another second and started running in the other direction down the hall. He could hear the creature running right after him, each step stomping on the floor like an elephant.

"OH SHIT!", he shouted - making a run for it - more likely making a run for his life... Mick ran like hell, throwing and dumping things on the way down the hall, which were no real obstacles for the creature.

 

"Crap!!!", he shouted again, trying to run faster than he could, but his flight suit was not so flexible, especially with his helmet on his back.Mick was running down the hall, when he saw a large double-door ahead.

 

While running - and almost out of breath, he said "Damn... I.... bet .... that.... damn ... dooor.... is ...... locked..... with ... my ..... luck...."

 

Mick reached the door tried to open it, noticed it was locked closed and turned around. The creature was about 70 meters away. Although he could have outran his follower, he was at a dead-end. Mick decided to reload his gun - Accidentally dropping the bullet clip, he got down to his knees, picked it up and reloaded his gun. The creature was now 50 meters away and coming in fast. He aimed his gun at his incoming threat.

 

Although out of breath, he snarled a remark... "Eat.... lead" and unleashed several shots towards the creature. Mick shot the clip empty... and although he hit his target a few times and noticed it was bleeding - somehow, it was still running at full speed towards him.

 

The handgun was smoking... and out of ammunition... He lowered his aim…

"Damn it, I'm starting to hate you...", he said to himself ,"but I'm not gonna stay here and let you shred me, you stinking pile of ..." - suddenly, Mick felt a force upon his arm, pulling him through the door "... wha ??!... whoa !"

 

Two doctors who pulled him in quickly sealed the thick doors again.

"Hey, are you ok?", one of them asked, as they hastly locked up the doors..

 

"Wow! Thanks guys! You saved my life.... thanks... ", he said to them... thankfully...

 

They heard a loud *SLAM!* against the door.... then again... along with a long and loud hauling cry never heard before....

"Now that's one pet I don't want to have... What was that thing and where are we?!"

 

"We've got no idea what that thing is...", the second doctor said, "It just came here, killed and injured a lot of people...", he rubbed his forehead..., "Right now, we're in the main cafeteria hall right now..."

 

Mick turned his head while he was still on the ground and noticed that they were not the only ones there. The cafeteria, which was already quite large, was full of beds with patients, medics who were still trying to rescue lives, civilians who had confused faces without hope, and policemen talking to each other...

 

"You survived in here?", Mick asked, as he was helped up to his feet.

"Yes, we managed to get the patients down here...", the first doctor said. "When that "thing" showed up... we left the door open in order to rescue anyone who makes it here until it found this area. Thanks to this fire-proof door, we're pretty lucky that that beast-thing is not strong enough to get through - Even though it kept trying now and then”, he explained as sorrow filled his face, “- No way out now- We're stuck here... a few patients died since we were unable to keep them with the life-supporting systems...”, He looked to the right, seeing other medic doing CPR measures to revive a patient.... flatline sound and then looked back to Mick, ”... Are you alright, by the way?"

 

Mick took a deep breath - actually starting to feel better that he was around people...

"I feel fine, just need a - break... normally these suits are light, but they get quite disturbing when you try to run...", Mick said, "Oh - I'm Mick.... Pvt. Mickerson, Veritech pilot of the 40th....'Cascade Knights' Valkyrie squadron...”, he smiled shortly, then looked over at one of the patients, which reminded him about something, “... Holy... I nearly forgot! I am looking for someone... a special patient."

 

"A patient here?", the second one asked, "What's his name?"

 

"Erm, her, you mean... Her name is Foxy- ... I mean... Roxanne - Kal, no - Keldon, I think", Mick replied back, "She's a Veritech pilot as well and was brought here since she had some kind of health problem during our last flight... We were in the same cockpit."

" I see... let me find out if she's here. We've received many pilots before the recent incidents"

"Ok"...

 

The 2nd doctor walked away and talked with one of the nurses who were standing nearby. She got out a clipboard list and searched a name. She then pointed somewhere in a particular direction and said something to the doctor. He then nodded and came back to Mick, saying, "She should be right over there", the doctor said, pointing in that direction.

"Thanks, doc!", Mick said, wove and jogged towards that direction.

 

 

 

-----