Macross Fan Fiction ❯ Above Reflex Point ❯ Hive ( Chapter 3 )

Robotech: Above Reflex Point

Part III: Hive

Six Shadow Alphas descended swiftly upon the energy barrier protecting the Invid Reflex Point's hemispheric central hive in tight formation. Captain Gempshaw, commanding Neptune Division's 27th squadron, had divided his remaining fighters into two flights led by himself and Lt. Reitnour.

"Ground control to Squadron Leader Two-Seven," a voice came over the net.

"Roger, ground control, go ahead, over," Gempshaw responded.

"Lt. Amert here, sir. Be advised, the fleet is concentrating their fire in Barrier Sector 7H, southeast quadrant. Your Destabilizers should be sufficient to break through with one shot."

"Acknowledged."

"The hive itself has proved impenetrable to any direct attack. However, we discovered a weak link; a transport tube of sorts between the central hive and the peripheral ones. Captain Harrington took the liberty of opening you a point of ingress. Good luck, and good hunting. Out."

"Thank you, control. Out."

"Gloval to Squadron leader Two-Seven," radioed Gempshaw's home ship. "Once you breach that energy shield, you'll be beyond radio contact with us. The Shadow Drones attached to your squadron are now programmed to exploit the breach in that tube no matter what. Over and out."

The eight Drones flew three miles behind the manned Alphas. Even at that range, their yellow canopy sensor slits were shining as if in eager anticipation of battle.

Gempshaw focused on the penetration zone and did a double take. Ahead, silhouetted starkly against the glowing backdrop of the Protoplex shield hovered a pair of the newest Invid mecha, powerful Command Battloids, their pilots transmutated into human form. Gempshaw gulped.

"Battloid mode, Captain? We can fight them on their own terms better that way," Reitnour suggested over the net.

"No time," Gempshaw replied. "Sterling Maneuver 3. Cover us Carl; Flight one, we'll take the one on the right."

The Alphas dived at the command ships full throttle, catching the Invid open armed for hand-to-hand combat with the Battloid configuration that had expected the Alphas to assume. Belatedly, twin covers slid back to reveal deltoid compartments full of short range missiles modeled on the Alpha's. Too late, Gempshaw thought.

The captain's Destabilizer blast blew the first Invid in half even as the second was maneuvering to shoot his flight from behind. In perfect execution of the tactics perfected by Max and Miriya Sterling for cooperative offensive "back scratching", Reitnour's flight slipped in behind the second command ship and shot it out of the sky.

"You should have seen the look on that traitor's face," Reitnour laughed in a way that made Gempshaw feel sick to his stomach.

Overhead, the sky darkened perceptibly as the afternoon sun was blocked by the REF cruisers in low orbit, an artificial eclipse the likes of which had never been seen in Earth's skies. Gempshaw regarded his instruments with nervousness; if one shot couldn't disrupt the shield sufficiently to achieve entry…

He needn't have worried. Fourteen Alphas, practically invisible against the unnatural sky, cleared the barrier and went to Battloid in one smooth movement.

At ground level, squads of Alpha Battloids and Cyclone riders huddled in hastily carved out trenches, trading fire with a horde of Invid Enforcers and Shock Troopers still desperately defending the breach in the entry tube. Harrington's single most prized resource was one the few remaining Synchro Cannons; it had crudely constructed the trenches and pierced the access tube with streams of pure energy. The cannon had redeployed behind the main line of resistance as was in the process of sweeping the skies between the Shadow Fighters and the REF line. For perhaps the first time that day Gempshaw felt like a valued commodity.

A pair of faces flashed onto his control panel.

"Gempshaw, glad to see you," Harrington said, dark strands of his hair visibly slick with sweat even beneath his tinted faceplate. His Alpha cockpit in the background of the image looked like it had been scorched by a near miss by an annihilation disc.

"My ETA is approximately two minutes," Gempshaw told him as he turned to the other pilot, flying a Beta Fighter. "Who are you?" he asked, more briskly than he intended.

"I am Lt. Commander Scott Bernard of the 21st Armored Tactical Assault Squadron, Mars Division," the pilot replied with a glare.

"Yeah, I've uh, heard of you," Gempshaw managed. "Now we have a problem, gentlemen. It doesn't look like the Invid resistance has been eliminated at the ingress point yet, but I've got eight Drones behind me already programmed to make their entry no matter what. I can't override them."

Harrington considered for a moment. "The Invid have been better able to deal with our Shadow Fighters using visual targeting than we anticipated. Under the circumstances, I think it may be unwise to commit your own squadron as yet. Those Drones, well, they'll have to be scrap."

"Wait a second," said Bernard. "If we concentrate all our firepower on the opening, we might be able to cover the Drones well enough to slip at least some of them inside. You know, an advance force to test out the internal defenses if nothing else."

"I thought you'd already made it inside the hive, Commander," Gempshaw replied, an edge of suspicion in his voice. "What kind of defenses were there?"

"None," Bernard replied without missing a beat. "But it just led to a dead end."

"I see. Out," Gempshaw said, signing off with Bernard and simultaneously opening a private channel to Harrington. "Are you sure the Invid didn't have an opportunity to- I don't know, it sounds crazy- replace him or something while he was in there?"

Harrington looked surprised. "No, Captain, absolutely not. After he left the hive, Bernard personally shot down the Invid Command Battloid leader who killed about a dozen of our pilots."

"Alright then. Out," Gempshaw replied.

"What's the word, Captain?" Reitnour broke in impatiently.

"The word is that we wait until the area's secured to make our own entry," Gempshaw said with irritation. "The first thing we're going to do is deploy to those trenches and help the ground forces cover the Drones' ingress."

"Don't tell me you're going to listen to that coward Harrington," Reitnour grunted. "I say we get in there right now and forget that son of a-"

"Shut up! I'm not going to throw your or anyone else in my squadron's life away in a stupid display of bravado!" Gempshaw interrupted furiously. "Those Drones are going to clear out any resistance before we set foot in that hive. And if they don't, I guarantee you'll have your crack at the Regis. Do I make myself understood? Lieutenant?! I asked you a question!"

"Yes. Sir. Captain," Reitnour bit out.

Another Shadow Drone pinwheeled in mid-air and exploded. Gempshaw cursed under his breath. That made three downed; despite the entire array of Robotech weaponry arrayed against the defenders, the Invid were still loosing storms of annihilation disks at the potential infiltrators. Like the other Veritechs, Gempshaw's squad knelt in the trench line with only their head optics exposed to watch the

"There. They made it," Harrington observed. Five Shadow Drones had indeed penetrated the hive's entry tube intact.

"Good," Gempshaw said. "Reitnour, get your flight in position to follow them."

With pleasure, sir," the Lieutenant enthused.

Just then, an agitated voice opened up a communications channel. "Sirs, Ensign Miles reporting. Lt. Amert says that Invid have begun breaking off attacks on the Reflex Point perimeter and are falling back towards the central hive."

"Looks like the Regis is reacting to our infiltration force already," Harrington speculated. But something else was happening. The volume of fire from the Invid still protecting the entryway was becoming sporadic.

"They must have done it! They killed the Regis!" Reitnour shouted with glee.

"No way that's possible," Gempshaw replied, frowning. "It's too soon."

Suddenly, a new voice broke in, "Scott, this is Lancer. I'm still inside the hive-"

But the relay man was still speaking. "There's something, else with the fleet. I don't know quite how to explain it-"

"Quiet, all of you!" Harrington growled. "Uh, Lancer, hold on a moment. Ensign, now what exactly is going on with the fleet?

"Well, I don't exactly know, it's kind of sketchy, but there's some report by the reconnaissance Veritechs that large capital ships of some sort are being deployed towards Reflex Point. But there's no confirmation from fleet control of any kind."

"We don't have time for this," Gempshaw broke in, exasperated. "Get back to Amert and find out what the hell's going on up there. Over and out."

"Scott!" Lancer was continuing urgently. "The Regis. She's agreed to leave the planet. I heard it with my own ears. Please, you have to break off your attacks!"

"What?!" Gempshaw asked with dismay.

"Lancer, that's not possible," Bernard answered, unfazed. "We've already sent in five Drones, and we have no way of controlling them from out here. Listen, if what the Regis says is true, you can try-"

"And Sera," Lancer interrupted.

Bernard looked surprised for a moment. "You and Sera can try and hold them off. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"You're not going anywhere," Gempshaw told him, Destabilizer cannon pointed menacingly in the Beta's direction.

"Wait a second. Bernard, would you mind explaining to the rest of us what in blazes is going on?!" Harrington asked.

"One of my team was actually talking to the Regis," Scott admitted. "And it looks like he managed to convince her to surrender Earth back to us. But it won't happen if she's dead-"

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Reitnour screamed. "Doesn't anybody here know an Invid trick when you see one?"

"No," Bernard responded. "That's why the Invid forces are ceasing fire, don't you see?"

"I don't believe one word you're saying!" Reitnour raved. Suddenly, his Alpha Battloid shot up and out of the trench, running forward towards the ingress point, dodging undisciplined volleys of Invid fire.

"Carl!" Gempshaw

"Sir, what do we do?" asked one of Reitnour's men urgently.

"Hold fast. Do not follow him. I repeat, do not follow him," Gempshaw ordered.

Bernard's Beta was still in Gempshaw's sights. Even its heavy armor could not possibly withstand a Destabilizer blast at point-blank range. "Captain Gempshaw! You have to let me go after him!"

"Reitnour is my man. I'm responsible for what happens," Gempshaw said through gritted teeth.

"My man is in there too and that lunatic will kill him!" Scott said firmly. "Please let me go!"

Gempshaw knew Bernard thought him paranoid, even battle happy just like Reitnour. It was a sad situation indeed; a pilot who would vaporize a comrade lest he defend his former enemy. But in the first calm moment of clarity to cross his mind in hours, Gempshaw realized he could not pull the trigger no matter what happened. In that instant, and much to his surprise, Gempshaw realized that he did not need the Regis or her race to be annihilated. After so many years, the promise of achieving the final peaceful settlement the REF had been dispatched to secure in the first place made all cries for vengeance ring hollow in his mind.

After a long moment, Gempshaw spoke. "I'm going with you," he relented, lowering his Destabilizer.

"No, Captain," Harrington intervened. "Your first duty is to your squadron. I won't risk any more of lives than necessary until I know exactly what's going on. Bernard, go ahead if you want."

The Beta sped towards the hive unopposed by the Invid which almost seemed to sense his purpose. Gempshaw watched Bernard disappear inside without a hint of emotion. He looked up at the sun, masked not by ships now but by a dozen dark forms looming larger by the second…

"Lieutenant, you must listen to me," Bernard tried again over the net. "The war is over! Turn around right now." He fired, grunting in frustration as he just missed the three trailing Shadow Drones as they turned a corner ahead. The interior of the access tube was green and brilliantly illuminated with yellow, almost organic lighting located on the ceiling and floor. Unfortunately, the straight corridor had become something of a labyrinth once it entered the central hive hemisphere, preventing him from getting a clear shot off. From the look of things, Reitnour had overtaken that trio and was even now speeding straight for Lancer and Sera's position.

"If I turn around, Bernard, it will just be to shoot your Invid loving ass. Whoops, there's your Invid girlfriend now. Guess I'll just have to kill her," Reitnour gloated. Panic washed across Scott. How could he know about Marlene? Then he realized it was Sera the madman had been referring to.

"Got her! You're next, traitor!" laughed Reitnour before signing off.

"Reitnour!" Scott yelled ineffectually, but there was no response.

Scott throttled up the Beta to a dangerous speed and swept around one tight curve in the corridor and then another. If those Shadow Fighters were far ahead…

Suddenly, he was right on top of the last three Drones. Scott could just make out the sound of Lancer's external speaker-enhanced voice reverberating desperately through the corridor over the cacophony of fire: "We can't take them all!"

A split second later Scott destroyed all three remaining Drones with a single burst. "You won't have to," Scott said. Beyond the wreckage was Lancer, Cyclone in Armor mode and Sera, her Command Battloid heavily damaged by a Destabilizer blast to its left "shoulder" but still operational.

"Hey Scott," Lancer managed.

"Thought I'd drop by," Bernard told them matter-of-factly. "Figured you could use the company."

"You're a very welcome sight," Sera told him with a smile.

Scott looked down with a hint of pity at the remains of Reitnour's Shadow Fighter, frontal armor unseamed and pilot compartment slagged all the way through by Sera's energy cannon.

"Yeah, well, I'd love to stay in chat, but I suggest we get out of here first."

Gempshaw stared in fixation at the enormous objects, each glowing with the friction of reentry, as Ensign Miles began broadcasting again, his youthful voice full of trepidation. "Fleet control is not answering inquiries… He's just apologizing over and over again, 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.'"

"What does it mean?" Harrington asked, his voice cracking with fear and betrayal.

Gempshaw closed his eyes and quit trying to force a swallow down his suddenly parched throat. He had heard rumors to the effect of a REF Reflex weapon of inconceivable power being built for use as a last resort, but no one thought it remotely possible the fleet leadership would use them without even trying to evacuate the ground forces.

After a long pause, Gempshaw looked up again at the looming warheads of the fleet's Neutron 'S' missiles and answered, unknowingly using the same words a humble Tiresian had uttered resignedly under similar circumstances so long ago: "It means our doom."

So their long journey across the galaxy was finally over. All along the line, the soldiers of the Robotech Expeditionary Force- men and women of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, even Mars Divisions- stood silently, looking at the sky, some weeping uncomforted and without shame. Certainly those outside the hive shield might have arched their Veritechs upward in a last desperate bid to escape the inevitable blast, but Gempshaw, Harrington, and everyone around realized such a gesture was futile for themselves.

Ever since he joined the military, Gempshaw had asked himself whether he would have preferred a quick painless death, his existence instantly terminated, or being mortally wounded; for at least then he might understand the nature of his death, and the reason for which he had sacrificed his being. As Gempshaw waited for the flesh to be charred from his bones in the nuclear holocaust about to be unleashed, the irony occurred to him that he would have the experience of both.

Gempshaw popped the seal on the Alpha's canopy and slid back the nose out of the secured position in the back of the Battloid. He leapt fifteen feet to the ground without even using the climbing cord provided for exit and reentry. Gempshaw stripped off his helmet and gloves, tossing them indifferently aside. The gentle breeze of his homeworld, warmed by the residual strength of the eclipsed sun, caressed his face as he lay back against the leg of his loyal Veritech and waited for the end.