fanfic_name = Beyond the Stars

chapter = 2

author = AP

dedicate = Carl Macek

Rating = AP

Type = Adventure

fanfic = Beyond the Stars: Part 2

By Admiral Price



The top brass of the RDF sat around a rectangular table. General Reinhardt had just arrived to lead the meeting, as had General Maistroff. The others present were Dr. Lang, Exidore, General Leonard, Commander Breetai, Rick, Lisa, and Greg. Leonard, Breetai, and Greg were represented by holographic counterparts seated on their chairs. Reinhardt sat at the head of the table. Maistroff was to his right, and Leonard's holographic image was to his left. Next to Leonard was a micronized representation Breetai, and next to Maistroff was Exidore. Rick and Lisa sat next to one another, and Greg's hologram sat across from Rick. Everyone stood as Maistroff and Reinhardt took their place at their chairs, and as they sat, the meeting finally began.



"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," said an obviously distraught General Reinhardt. "I am indeed very relieved that all of you are safe. Let us observe a moment of silence in the honor of Admiral Gloval."



"Sir," interjected Lisa. "Shouldn't we wait for conclusive evidence?"



"Like what Captain Hayes?" asked General Maistroff.



"Like-" Lisa began, but the tears in her eyes and the trembling in her voice kept her from finishing her sentence. She would refuse to let her tears fall, but the fight was taking a toll on her ability to speak.



"Like a body," Rick finished her sentence, his hand resting supportively on Lisa's shoulder.



"All the same, I believe we should have a moment of silence," said General Leonard.



"Yes sir," said a shaky Lisa as she lifted her head. When the moment of silence started, she was almost completely lost. Her eyes became misty as she disappeared in the past, her mind no longer in the room. Rick looked at her quizzically. He knew she was tough, and this show of emotion was unbecoming of her. The top brass was lost also, but they were lost more in thought than in memory.



"You have all been gathered here for a reason," started General Reinhardt, ending the moment of silence. "General Leonard, your expertise with the ground forces will be greatly helpful in the clean up of New Macross. General Maistroff, your overall knowledge and leadership will be a great asset in the next few months. Minister Exidore, your knowledge in Robotech vessels and history will be crucial. Commander Breetai, your knowledge of the Zentradi will essential. Dr. Lang, your engineering expertise has been and will be crucial, more so now than ever before. Captain Lisa Hayes, your tactical mind and determination will be of a great asset, and Captain Hunter, you are the leader of our pilots, the most respected Veritech Pilot in our forces. And there is one more: Admiral Gloval's aid, Gregory Steinberg. We believe that you can give us insight into Admiral Gloval's mind, now that he is no longer with us. I expect us to move quickly and with determination to ensure the safety of our planet. The future of our planet is in your hands. Are we ready?"



"Yes sir," was the collective response from the group.



"Good. Let us begin with the review of today's events. Captain Hayes, will you please begin?"



"Yes sir. At 1100 hours, the renegade Khyron led an attack on the SDF-1 and SDF-2, as well as New Macross City. His attacked destroyed both the SDFs and leveled over thirty percent of New Macross. Most of the people on board the SDFs were killed. It appears that Khyron found a way to slip past our new defense systems, or else he would have been cut down before he even reached the continent. Because of this surprise attack, the SDF-1 was crippled before the fight even began. Khyron attacked our fuel cells first. The reflex furnaces chain reacted, and the ship was lost. However, the SDF-1 was able to lift off and begin its counter-attack. The power reserves only held enough protoculture for one shot. However, the shot was diverted a little to the right because of a malfunction in the aiming system. Due to this, the ship was able to begin a ramming action. Thanks to the brave actions and quick thinking of Admiral Gloval and Lieutenant Steinberg, most of the bridge was able to escape. However, the attacks had not ended yet. The mecha warehouses were raided by renegades, and though a Skull-led counter offensive was able to wipe out most of the rebels, they were still able to escape with fifty mecha. The reasons for stealing the mecha are as of yet unknown."



Lisa sat down, her report finished. Rick smiled at her and gently squeezed her hand. She returned his smile, though weakly, and returned her gaze to Reinhardt.



"Thank you Captain. Your report brings up three questions: first and foremost, how did Khyron slip past our defenses. Second, why were the mecha stolen? Third, what do we do now? Let us deal with each question one at a time. Dr. Lang, do you have any information about Khyron's tactics?"



"Yes sir. There are two possibilities: first, Khyron could have found a way to disguise his protoculture signal. Second, there could have been a deliberate or inadvertent malfunction in the computer system of the advance warning radar and response program," said Dr. Lang.



"So either he found a way to dope the radar or there was sabotage," clarified Rick.



"Basically," affirmed the Doctor.



"Excuse me sir," chimed in Exidore. "But I do not believe Khyron to be capable of such deception!"



"Please explain minister," said a curious Reinhardt.



"In all our past experience with Khyron, it is apparent that he believes in the superiority of the Zentradi and the use of brutality and force. He has always put very little thought into science and technology. Also, the Zentradi scientists have been experimenting with such devices for millennia, but none have ever reached a satisfactory level of functionality," continued Exidore.



"Basically none worked," simplified Rick. Greg shook his head and Lisa smirked. The top brass, save for Breetai, seemed annoyed with Rick's need to constantly simplify things, but he was a fighter pilot after all and not some high strung general.



"Precisely, Captain. The best they could create was a device that could cloak a battle pod or fighter, but none was powerful enough to cloak a vessel of that magnitude," said Exidore.



"Pardon my interruption sir," began Lisa. "But then the only other option is sabotage."



"Not necessarily, Captain," chimed in Maistroff. "These systems are new, and we have not been able to test them fully as of yet. It is possible they malfunctioned at that time."



"Sir, the odds of that are-" began Rick.



"A billion-zillion to one," finished Greg, pulling a statistic that Rick had previously used to describe the odds of a coincidence in genetical engineering. "Yes, we know Rick." This drew some much light laughter from Exidore, Breetai, Lisa, and Rick. The others just looked at them and understood it was an inside joke. Reinhardt cleared his throat to express his displeasure, and the meeting continued.



"So sabotage is our best bet right now," Lisa mused out loud.



"That is quite alarming," Breetai announced. "Until now there had only be evidence of Zentradi acting out of hatred and anger violently. To think that they have grown intelligent enough to carry out such covert operations is disturbing."



"Commander, I would agree with you, but the problem is that there were no Zentradi present at the Radar facility," Leonard said. "There was great care taken to ensure only humans worked at the facility."



"I believe that information as to what happened is scarce, and thus it would be fruitless to discuss it at this time," Reinhardt suddenly said, ending the discussion. "If it is all right with you, General Leonard, I'm placing you in charge of the investigation of this matter."



"I thank you for the appointment," Leonard said, beaming. He was competent, and thus made a great selection.



"Good. Now let's move on to the next subject: why did they steal the mecha even after their commander was shot down?" Reinhardt asked, beginning the next discussion.



"Well sir, I believe I may have something to offer there," Greg started.



"Oh? Please, by all means," Reinhardt responded.



"Thank you sir. As you know, Admiral Glovalsky had many ideas, plans, and suspicions of which he never informed anyone. However, I was more than just his aide, I was also his confidant and like his son. He trusted me with information that, to me, it has become apparent is true. Admiral Glovalsky believed that during our initial attack, 3000 ships were severely damaged and landed in Siberia to await the imminent victory of Dolza so that they could be scooped up by the Supreme Commander. When he was defeated, they started repairing their cruisers. Not too tainted by human society because of landing in such a wasteland, they still only know how to fight. I now believe that they are responsible," Greg said.



"Do you have any proof, Lieutenant?" Maistroff asked.



"Umm.no sir. All the proof has been destroyed by Khyron. However, I do know that the Admiral covertly sent a carrier with a squad of fighters and a Cat's Eye Recon unit to investigate. No one returned, and there was no return of transmissions I sent personally," Greg responded.



"Hmm.perhaps we will send a more prominent force there to scout out the area. The RDF has little to no presence in Russia, and so we could shoot down two birds with one shot," Reinhardt suggested. "Any other ideas?"



"Sir," Breetai began. "I believe in the Lieutenant's hypothesis. Zentradi foot soldiers do not have the intellectual capacity to carry out such planned raids, nor do they have the foresight to stage something as this. Also, rebels can not wage a direct war, as this tactic would show they are preparing to do. Because of this, I agree with the Lieutenant."



"I will agree with Lord Breetai, General," Exidore said.



"Then it's settled," Maistroff said. "Who will we send?"



"I volunteer, sir," Lisa said bravely. "I would like to honor Admiral Gloval's name and take this mission for him."



"And I'll volunteer my fighter squadron for the job," Rick said. "It'll be dangerous, so it makes sense to do so."



"I also have to go, for personal reasons, sir," Greg said.



"Your offers are all accepted," Reinhardt said. "We will, of course, need to iron out the details at a later date. Until then, we will send preliminary reconnaissance vehicles to the site in question. Now for the third question: Where do we go from here? The two SDFs have been totally destroyed, and Admiral Gloval is dead- now what?"



"On the short term sir, we should work on two things: evacuating the civilians from New Macross, and assessing the damage done to the RDF," General Maistroff said.



"Yes, I agree with the General's priorities," Exidore agreed.



"Then General Maistroff, I will put you in charge of relocating the civilians and developing a working plan of what to do with New Macross. I will head the assessing of damage myself," General Reinhardt said. "I believe that when I am done, there will be massive promotions. For some of us, it will be well deserved. For others, they will be prime opportunists. If that is all."



"Yes, sir," the rest of them said in unison.



"Very well then, dismissed. Go home and rest. You all deserve it today," Reinhardt commanded.



The top brass stood first, led by Reinhardt, then followed by Maistroff and Leonard. Breetai's hologram disappeared and Exidore scurried out of the room. When Rick and Lisa left arm in arm, Lieutenant Steinberg's smiling face disappeared as well.



Rick took Lisa by the arm and led her gently to the make-shift medical center. He saw the resistance in her eyes and smiled. She was a fighting spirit, never wanting to admit that she was even hurt.



"It'll be all right Lisa," he said.



"I know," she responded. "It's just that I don't think a bruised arm is anything to get worked up about."



"Lisa! You came tumbling down a dieing space cruiser! God knows what's happened!" he retorted.



"I know, I know," she said, shaking her head. Suddenly she went weak, the adrenalin finally subsiding, and nearly collapsed in his arms. She groaned, no longer able to talk out of exhaustion and shock, and panic quickly began spreading through her body. The tears she had been holding were no longer able to stay held. They gushed forth like a fountain, and only Rick was there to comfort her.



"We better get you to the medical center fast," he said. Lifting her into his arms and gently kissing her forehead, he carried her all the way to the make-shift base's make-shift medical center.



============================== =================

Author's Notes



I know, I know, there's none of that lovey dovey stuff. But, I mean, their world just fell apart, do you really blame them? This was more of just an explanation chapter. The next two chapters will have the human drama. Lastly.feedback!



Also, some will be upset but I'm not going to be brutal to Minmei or Maistroff. They'll have enough external enemies to deal with ;)



Hope you enjoyed!

Yours Truly,

Admiral Price

State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = AdmiralPrice786ATaol.com