Real_Fic/Fake_Fic = REAL FANFIC

fanfic_name = Beyond the Stars

chapter = 7

author = AdmiralPrice

dedicate = Carla, GPPR, Amanda, Carl Macek

Rating = AP

Type = Adventure

The shot ripped through the battloid, leaving it gutted and charred on the ground. Immediately, Skull One took the offensive, landing the barrel of his battloid in the face of the Zentradi. The face shield of his battle mask broke, and Rick could see his nose was definitely broken. Again and again he pummeled him with the gun, until he was sure the giant’s brains were no longer useable. Then he stood, and in wonderment looked around him.

The small settlement, known mostly for its contribution to the construction industry, was absolutely torn apart. Where there were factories were now burning humps of metal, twisted and disfigured by the heat. Houses were destroyed, blood of civilians and military servicemen alike poured through the streets. It had been attacked by a group of twenty Zentradi, and the RDF had responded by sending forty Veritechs and eighty ground troops. The result? Ten battloids gone. At least eight pilots dead. Fifty of the eighty ground troops survived. And worst of all, the settlement was gone.

“Skull one, this is Emerald three,” chimed in Lieutenant Lewis, pulling Rick out of his thoughts. “Skull squadron, do you copy?”

“I hear ya Lt.” Rick said with a sigh. The battle, after three hours of fighting, was finally over.

“We’re your reinforcements,” Lewis said. Rick chuckled, feeling sick as he looked the men he’d lost- nine now. He took his gun pod and shoved it into the hands of the Lt.

“Good for you,” he said, switching to fighter mode, and lead Skull squadron back to the hanger bay. This was not a good day.

* * *

“Thank you for gathering on such short notice, gentlemen,” General Reinhardt said, his hands interlocked and placed on the large round oak table. “We have some very troubling business to discuss, so let us begin without any further pleasantries. Captain Hayes?”

He nodded to Lisa, who acknowledged him, and stood. She was disturbed, her green eyes flashing brilliantly like they did during battle procedures. She knew as well as Rick that there would be very serious consequences, depending on how this meeting went.

“Renegade Zentradi forces are become more and more belligerent. We have been attacked eight times over the course of three weeks. These attacks are not the hate crimes we are accustomed to; these attacks are planned and deliberated before hand. Weak spots in our defenses are identified and attacked. They understand our response time. They know our philosophies and drills. And although we are able to defeat most of them regularly, they show no signs of hesitation or halting these attacks. These are my findings based on reports filed by Captain Hunter and Lieutenant Steinberg, who are present here today, as well as reports filed by Lieutenants Maximillion and Myria Sterling.”

She took a seat and pulled her chair closer to the desk, tapped something on her palm pilot, and tried hard not to look at anyone.

“Would Captain Hunter be interested in reporting his own findings?” Reinhardt said.

“We have heard the wonderfully crafted statement by Captain Hayes already sir,” General Maestroff said. “As you said, we don’t have time to waste.”

“All the same, I wish to hear first hand accounts of the happenings on the battlefield,” Reinhardt said. It struck that the General was an intelligent man, one who knew that things in meetings generally don’t reflect the reality on the field.

“Yes sir,” Rick said, stood, and straightened his uniform. “Skull squadron has engaged the enemy four times, the most recent of which was yesterday. We have sustained heavy casualties over the past three weeks.”

“Tell me Captain,” Leonard chimed in. “Do you think these attacks are…premeditated?”

“If you mean that the Zentradi attack at the right time, the right place, and the right personnel, then yes sir, they are. But even still, we would have wiped the floor with them if we were provided with enough ammunition.”

“We’ll discuss that in full at a later time, Captain Hunter,” General Reinhardt said. “But for now, please answer this question in no uncertain terms: are these attacks done in rage and anger, or are they planned and coordinated.”

“If you mean ‘is it a bad case of anger?’ or ‘are we at war?’, I can’t answer that. What I can say is that they know us a bit too much for it to be random attacks. They know our strengths, our weaknesses, and our battle plans. How? I don’t know sir.”

Lisa stared up at Rick, and when their eyes met, he immediately recognized that she was angry. About what, he thought. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Thank you Captain,” Reinhardt said. Rick took a seat. The General remained silent for a few moments before he continued. “It is of my opinion that we have disillusioned Zentradi within the military infrastructure. I believe that these attacks are nothing but the ripple effects of a major show of weakness on our part. In order to stop this, we must proceed with an iron fist, stamp out anything that walks against us. For the time being, all Zentradi personnel within the military shall be put on reserve, except for those under the command of Commander Breetai and General Exadore. We will then find the renegades in our midst and prosecute them. When everything calms down, we’ll return things to normal. I hope you are not offended by this, General Breetai.”

“Not at all sir,” the holographic Breetai said. “I understand that this course of action is necessary at a time like this.”

“Even so, we must proceed with the utmost care,” Exedore said. “If we handle his haphazardly we risk disenfranchising and angering uninvolved Zentradi, which could result in disaster for us all.”

Rick looked over at Lisa, saw that she was resigned to the decision, and knew that she would probably vent a lot afterwards.

“The next thing I want to talk about is our ammunition shortage problem,” Reinhardt said. “I believe you have a report on this, Lieutenant Steinberg.”

“Yes sir,” Greg said as he stood, holding a piece of paper in his hands. “In the past three weeks, we have had eight major encounters with the enemy, as well as many smaller ones. During these eight major battles, we experienced ammunition shortages in five of them. As a result, we lost many pilots who had to resort to melee warfare. The reasons for this are numerous. First, creating such large bullets and large amounts of gunpowder is extremely taxing on our war funds; war funds that are being depleted by many repairs we are in the process of completing. Second, our largest reserve of weapons was destroyed with the SDF-2. It will take at least five years to re-stock all the weapons lost, according to some reports. Third, we lack the proper facilities to construct such a large cache of weapons. All these reasons together have created a choke hold on our ability to arm our troops well. This is creating serious problems. These are my findings.” Greg took a seat, Reinhardt thanked him, and proceeded with the meeting.

General Reinhardt pressed his hands to his forehead, took a deep breath, and then spoke. “I believe Doctor Lang is developing a prototype that will be battle ready without the use of guns. We shall hear from him in a week. Until then, Lt. Steinberg and Hayes will ration the ammunition. Do as you like, just make sure you report to me on your progress. Gentlemen, we need to clear these stormy seas as soon as we can, with as little damage as possible. We’ll meet again in a week.”

And with that, everyone stood, and the meeting ended.

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Author’s comments

Well, I hope you see where I’m trying to take this. I really had to get this done. The next one will work on sorting out the issues I’ve placed in the personal life of the different characters. Hope you like it. Leave feedback please!

State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = AdmiralPriceATgmail.com