Macross Fan Fiction ❯ Robotech: Beneath a steel sky ❯ Chapter 20 - Gloval's Choice ( Chapter 20 )

---- Chapter 20 ---- Gloval's Choice...

Somewhere in "Gradenko Memorial District"...

RDF tanks were rolling across the street along with troops of soldiers and armed civilians.

Foxy-Roxy was laying in one of the sickbeds inside one of the tanks, when she was suddenly woken up by a loud sound. She unluckily knocked her forehead against the sickbed above her... Mick turned around when he noticed that she has awoken.

"Foxy? Wow, am I glad you're awake again! How do you feel?!", he asked anxiously, happy to see her awake.

She held one hand on her forehead, feeling the pain... " I - I'm fine, just a slight headache... Awake? How long have I been away?", she replied. Her head ached... Actually, ever since they met the first time, she has constantly been hurting her forehead...

Mick leaned back... " It's been hours... after you saved the most of us, you just dropped".

She leaned up again suprised, "Hours?!".

He pushed her by the shoulder back to bed, " Now, easy... you seemed quite weak back then... Just take a break and relax", he said.

"What was that sound just a while ago... It sounded so familiar...", she asked again, " ... It sounds... like...".

Mick looked up to her, as if he knew what she was about to say. "... like a battleloid?", he continued questioning.

One of the tank crewmen called Mick to have a look outside. He did not waste another second to figure out what it was... Outside of the tank, a hatch opened along with Mick's head looking out...

When he turned around, he was surprised to see something large behind.

He looked up... indeed, it was a Veritech in Battleloid mode, carrying a slightly different armor along with a different main rifle-cannon.

Foxy-Roxy suddenly poped up next to him, pushing him aside...

"A battleloid? Here ??? I thought those thing couldn't handle the gravity in here... We were just lucky to get any further with our mecha and this guy is standing here without problems...", she said confused.

More battleloids started coming, walking in formation. Both of them were looking at the battleloids as they past by each other...

"Hey you two, I got great news, we're about to meet up at the main terminal gateway, which means we'll soon be in safety...", the tank commander said.

The crew cheered victoriously, "... but we better hurry, trouble is still just a few 400meters away...".

All the sudden, an explosion occured, high above the tank. Both pilots looked upwards, seeing that one of the buildings had a burning crater... Debris and bricks were coming down.

They immediately dived down into the tank and closed the hatch. It took only a few seconds until the falling pieces started slamming on top of the hull of the tank like hail.

Gunfire could be heard, along with stomping sounds of many battleloids moving into combat. Corperal Briggs immediatly shouted, "Full speed ahead! Let's get out of here, now!". The tank increased it's speed.

Right in front of the main terminal gateway was a large and open field, with enough space for two whole football-fields... After that comes a long and wide passage to the next district, in other words, the last step to safety.

The tank rolled onto the field, along with other vehicles like tanks and trucks and armed civilians running as fast as they could. A few more explosions occured behind them.

----

A large group of men in uniforms were sitting in the conferance room as Admiral Gloval entered the room.

Field Commander Roy Fokker, Lieutenant Rick hunter, Max Sterling and Ben Dixon along with other pilots and stood up and saluted to the Admiral.

"At ease, gentlemen", Gloval said,"Please, sit down".

They did what he said and awaited his next words with full attention.

"I am pleased to see all of you. As you already know, your upcoming mission will be more difficult than fighting the Zentraedi. This so-called "Invid" creature has already done enough damage to the ship and has killed more than enough civilians to show that it will ruthlessly kill further without stopping until it has what it wants", the Admiral said.

He leaned back into his seat, then spoke further, "The enemy is indeed hideous... strong... but not invincible... Your mission is to infiltrate and gather whatever information you can about the "Invid" creature... There are various entrances to this... "thing"...", he paused, then lifted his head, "... but gentlemen, before I let you out on this dangerous mission, I need all of you to complete a task before proceeding.

Commander Fokker seemed confused, "Admiral? A task before our main mission? We were not informed about..."

The Admiral rose his hand," I know, Commander, this task I am talking about has ,in a way, nothing to do with your upcoming mission... As you might have heard, a group of renegade pilots have flown off into space. I would like all of you to retrieve those pilots, alive. As long as the "Invid" are out there as well, I would not like to have any of our men get themselves killed, even if they are renegades. Besides this situation, a gigantic disturbing field is about to cover the SDF-1, making any communication and scanning measures beyond from useless. Therefore I want all of you to clear this task as soon as possible...".

Commander Fokker interrupted the Admiral politely, "Sir, I think I speak in your common sense if we were to disembark immediately?".

The Admiral smiled and lowered his head, "Indeed..."

It did not take long until the other pilots left the room. Gloval lifted his hand towards Roy, showing him to wait.

After the last pilot left the room, the old man spoke, "Commander, take this", and handed him a coded flight cassette.

"Admiral?", Roy asked with a very questioning voice.

"Commander Fokker, this tape contains your true mission after retrieving the renegade pilots. Run it's content when you have departed from the SDF-1 and do not brief your squadrons until you find it appropiate".

Roy looked at the Admiral with a firm face, saluted towards him and exited the room.

The communication phone suddenly rung, urgent tone. Admiral Gloval picked up the phone," Yes, Admiral Gloval speaking..."

- 1st Officer Hayes voice spoke, "Sir, I think it is appropiate that you should come immediately to the bridge. Guardians of the last main terminal gate have reported of an upcoming situation - There seems to be a wide-spread skimish between ground forces, neutrals and "Invids" along the Gradenko Memorial district.

Gloval lifted his head... "I will be there in a minute, Gloval out", he replied and laid the phone. "Squadrons, we have no time to lose, head immediately to your Veritechs. You all will receive full briefing soon... Dismissed."

----

Gradenko Memorial District...

Numerous vehicles charged ahead, rolling on the open field, heading towards the gateway... The tank of Mick and Foxy-Roxy was far ahead and on the lead.

Corp. Briggs shouted," Ok, guys listen up, we're almost there, but it's gonna be tight one this time! I just hope we'll get some help since we got those "things" hot on our tails!"

The tank driver spoke, "Hey Briggs! We're still far away, but I can see Veritechs standing up ahead..."

Mick and FoxyRoxy turned around... "Huh?"

----

Back in the bridge, Admiral Gloval entered the bridge and immediately requested a situation report.

"Admiral, it seems as if a very large number of soldiers... and civilians are heading towards the last terminal gateway - but they seemed to be compromised with "Invid" units as well...", Claudia reported.

Lisa Hayes turned around," Sir, we have the problem that the gateway is ready for shutdown, but if we shutdown, the people will be doomed for sure!"...

The downfall in her voice sounded tragically to the other bridge officers.

Claudia Grant spoke again," ... Sir, I have Colonel Nelson on the communication line, he has an urgent request... I will put him on...", she tipped a few switches on her console, activating loud speakers, along with a pilot without helmet inside a Valkyrie in Battleloid mode on a screen.

"Colonel Nelson speaking, Sir *salutes* - Admiral, excuse my harsh intrusion, but there are at least thousands of them heading our way... My squads are standing on our guardian positions and ready for dispatch - Shall we move out, Sir?"

... A few seconds went by... Gloval was stilling thinking...

"Um... Sir... The situation is tight... We require your go-command, Sir... My men are ready to fight off the enemy."

Admiral Gloval stood up straight... seriousness written in his face.

He spoke," This is a direct order... Your squadron and the rest shall remain on their positions... Do not, I repeat, do not let anything bypass the gateway... neither "Invid"... nor allies... Officer Hayes, engage shutdown sequence of the last gateway - now!"

Colonel Nelson was surprised," But sir... We... T-The people require our forces! We can't - "

Gloval interrupted, " - We can not let the 'Invid' bypass that sector either... if they pass, they will infest and terrorise the last half of the ship... I can not let this happen... You are to fire warning shots if the fleeing units are to continue their escape... I know I am asking more than enough, but we must still have our goal focused on the suvival of the SDF-1... if the "Invid" pass the gateway, then the Battlefortress is doomed - for sure... Do you understand my demand, Colonel - ?"

Both, Lisa Hayes and Colonel Nelson, hesitated... The orders were definitely going to lead to the doom of many people... but they had no choice...

----

The tank raced ahead... "Wooohooo, just a few more minutes, guys!", the driver said, "Man, am I glad to see those guys standing there!"

- Then all the sudden, he immediatly slammed the brakes of the tank, as he saw multiple beams and shots fired in front of them from the Veritechs. Both chains stopped rolling and stalled themselves. The whole crew flew foward as the sudden jolt made everything fly ahead... The tank slid until came to a full stop...

Corperal Briggs immediately climbed up and grabbed one of the communication speakers and shouted on all frequencies: "Cease fire, cease fire! Blue on Blue - Hold your fire! We're from the 45th tank brigade! We've got a large number of civilians which need immediate evacuation and medical support! Over!" ...

After a few seconds, a reply came... ""This is Colonel Nelson speaking... You are to hold your position... Do not proceed to the gateway... Superior orders from Admiral Gloval. The Gateway will be shut down in order to block the "Invid" surpression. The Gateway will be closed till further notice...""

Briggs looked up, astonished... Mick grabbed the radio and climbed out of tank...

After a few steps, he held the radio speaker in front of his mouth:

"Superior order?! Are you guys nuts! You can't shut that thing down on us now- Can you... ?!", a few explosions occured futher behind him, "Invid"-biological explosives, " - Damn it, can't you guys see that we need help down here?! We got wounded and frightened civilians who only want to get out of here and battle-weary soldiers that need immediate assistance! Com'on, you can't just drop on us just like that?!" Mick shouted...

The row of Battleloids remained on their positions, only aiming their cannons towards Mick's direction... Colonel Nelson's hand was slightly shaking, as he was right between a tough situation.

The main gateway was now closing down... A familiar female voice spoke over loud speakers throughout all districts:

""The last and main Gateway-Terminal of the Gradenko Memorial District is being shut down until further notice to prevent the advance of the enemy. If you are to be on the false side, you are to seek cover and remain in safety from all danger. I repeat - the main Gateway-Terminal will remain closed until further notice... Bridge Command of SDF-1 - out ...""

The battle could be heard behind Mick... A few trucks and tanks with people reached their position.

One of them shouted,"Hey, what's going on? Why aren't they letting us through?! Don't they see we need help...?"

Mick stood still, as he watched the super thick and majestic moving hull-like wall coming down from the high ceiling... made of Hyper-Carbonite... the toughest material ever... FoxyRoxy also jumped out of the tank, with a rifle strapped on her back, and ran over to him...

"This is ridiculous...", Mick said quietly to her..., "We've all came this far and now we're being left out here... I don't believe it... They're letting us down...Just to protect their hide..."

- The Gateway was about to close...

"- We're doomed...", he added. FoxyRoxy stood behind him... not knowing what to say...

Not far away, gunfire and other explosions could be heard...

"Well, here we are now... fooled by the big guru up there... Guess we're on our own", he said... but then felt something around him his waist.

It was FoxyRoxy... holding him tightly... He turned around to her...

Looking into her eyes, he knew how she felt - Her eyes said it all... It was fear... The fear from death... Mick held her tight as well...

"Oh Mick...", her voice sounded as if she was about to cry, "I...", she was shaking... He held her more tightly...

Mick looked around... very far away, he could see explosions... people fighting... vehicles firing... and

various trucks, standing around him with many people on board... He looked over to and saw that many trucks were carrying arms and other weaponary tools...

More explosions could be heard... Although the battle was far away, there was no way in escaping the confrontation...

He lifted FoxyRoxy's face gently by the chin. "Roxanne... You know I would never let you down...

I promised you to get us out of here... and just can't let you down...", he said...

His words made FoxyRoxy smile a little..., "We just can't wait here and get ourselves killed by those... those "things"... can we?".

Anger filled in his voice, "And there's one thing I swear - I will not drop down 'till I get my hands on those guys up there... but until then... You must trust me - I'll get us out of here... somehow..."

Again, he looked at all the vehicles around him... then at the people... There were at least 3000 people around him, and another 10,000 coming towards their position, hoping to get into safety, if they have not heard the bad news... and the numbers were not the only ones.

He gave a kiss on the forehead of FoxyRoxy... then moved aside... He held the radio in front of his mouth, hoping it was still set on all frequencies:

"To all of those who can hear my message... I don't know exactly what to say... but we're going to be stuck here... Unforetunely, we won't neither make it into safety nor will we receive help... I know... Those creatures are out there, heading this way... and we've got no way out... and I know you all are weak... wounded... and afraid to die..." - he paused... -

More and more people listened to his voice...

"Not all of us are soldiers... not even the half of us is supposed to be here... but we have no choice... Therefore I beg all of you, gather all your courage! We have women, children, loved ones which must be defended from all that opposes us...*Mick climbs up the tank and stands on top of the turret* Please, stand up, we will never survive if we stay hopelessly in a shelter doing nothing... nor will ever survive if we continue to run away in fear... We can't just get ourselves killed like that... Get up, grab a rifle... and fight! Fight against all that opposes us! *Pauses... then his voice went softer* Fight for liberty..."

Silence... Mick did not notice any reaction... His arms dropped...

Maybe they were just not ready to fight... Maybe it was too selfish of him to think that these civilians were going to fight and withstand another onslaught... He then heard a sound from his right side.

It was FoxyRoxy - who just unsafed her rifle - holding it ready... then climbed up next to him... Another sound was heard... Mick turned around and saw that one civilian, a man with a bloody bandage on one of his legs, jumped down from a truck, landed painfully, but got up to his feet and pulled rifle from one of the armory-trucks nearby. More People started to grab weapons...

Mick was astonished... The people understood what he was trying to say...

They seemed - although weak - willing to fight... He felt more confident that FoxyRoxy was ready to follow him where ever he was willing to go as well...

He reactivated his radio: "Citizens of Macross City... I'm not really great at this... I'm just an ordinary pilot from the RDF... but ever since this situation... I feel that the RDF is no longer our ... "leader"... If we want to survive, we must, I'm afraid, have to leave this sector somehow... I don't know how we want to bust those "bugs", but we've got the guns... We've got the raw firepower... The only thing we need is people with the brains and sense of tactics... We have many soldiers among us... Let them show you their experiance... learn from them how to protect yourselves! Rely on the experiance and the capability of your allies...- We then shall survive!"

Cheering crowds could be heard... It was amazing, both to him and FoxyRoxy...

A very loud "slam" sound came from behind... The gateway was now closed - pemanantly "until further notice" - as Mick heard... This was it... Their only choice was to make a run for it...

"Well then, let's not waste any more time", Mick said over broadcast,"We're at a dead end now, let us move towards east, maybe we're lucky... It's our last chance to escape..."

The crowd started running towards the direction he said.

"I don't believe it...", he said to himself.

FoxyRoxy moved closer to him, "...don't believe what, Mick?", she asked.

"They're doing what I'm saying... I don't even know if we'll ever make it out of here...", Mick replied, " I don't know how to command... I'm just an ordinary pilot... not a commander..."

"You've given the people hope... They don't know what to do - I'm sure we can make - Just have trust...", she returned. "I hope you're right...", he said, "Um, Briggs, let's follow the people."

He heard Briggs said "roger" and the tank first turned, then started moving fowards.

Mick had one last look to the main terminal gateway. They tried to reach it... but it was shut down... for the safety of others... "until further notice"...

He decided not to forget those three words... and the fact that they were outcasted and more likely "betrayed" by their own people to sacrifice themself made him angry... but he snapped out of the thoughts and looked towards the other direction...

Thousands of people were fighting... He noticed that there where two major groups...

If they wanted to survive, he was going to need all his knowledge, all his strategic wisdom and his wits to get themselves out of this mess. He held the radio next to his mouth again:

"Ok, listen up...", he went with one hand through his face, "As I can see, we are three super large groups, one near the gateway, one north-east... and one north-west. I want to give out callsigns to those groups. My group, here at the gate... will be...", he hesitated, he did not have a name ready...

" will be...", he looked around and saw a commercial board, ripped up with holes in it, an animal with stripes was on it...

"The name of my group will be Badger... Badger Command... Judging by the weaponary and Mechas of the north-eastern group, you'll act as Badger Offense - the other group which has rather more soldiers and armed ground forces than hardware shall have the name Badger Defence... I think it would be appropiate to always first say which group you are in, then say whatever message you like- and end your message with 'over' and the transmission with 'out
' - Both groups, could you give me your momentary status of your situation against those 'bugs'?... um, Badger Command over"

After a short second, a voice over radio, ""Very well - Badger Command - This is... Badger Offense, we've managed to fend off most of the those things so far... over""

- after a short frequency-scratch, another voice spoke, ""Badger... Defence, here - The 'enemy' is forcing us to retreat! We've got many injured and other people who are not capable of fighting - We could need some help! Over!""

Mick though a few seconds... then replied, " Ok, both, listen up, as you've heard, I've planned on retreating to the district eastern of our position - It would be best if both of you would retreat in the same direction... I'd say that Badger Defense should help out the other Badger Group - so that both can make it out safely... Got that? Over"

The radio made a double confirmation... then went off.

Mick turned over to FoxyRoxy and laid both hands on her shoulders... "We'll make it, somehow, we both can make it... somehow"

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