Macross Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of Megaroad -- Book One ❯ Over The Horizon ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 12: Great Warlord Shikari

--April 22, 2016--

--08:35--

By some miracle, Miko was still asleep at this time in the morning and Hikaru was on flight duty. That gave her some quiet time to think things over. In the sanctity of her staff office two decks down from the bridge, Misa was reading the POPs again, and this time with an even greater feeling of dread. The talk of independence was growing more radical every day. Some of it was purely idealistic and benign, but an increasing amount of the interviews seemed inflammatory in nature and intent. Misa's own statement to the press, that independence from the UN was not only a bad idea but a blatant act of treason, had met with severe criticism from some of the highest ranking officers on the ship, and even the civilians and some of the city council members were starting to lean towards the separatists. And besides that, her mailbox was now stuffed with letters trying to appeal to her to declare Megaroad a sovereign nation to the UN. Misa had done everything in her power to keep this from spreading, she had even started up the paperwork to court-martial Sara and Lieutenant Harper, but she knew that would never work. Even if she could bring the military officers back to their senses, the civilian separatists would not waver.

But as she brooded over the developments in the city, her eyes drifted back the Phoenix's last report that indicated that she had one more reason to be worried. The courier ship had explained that during their search for the females, Broli's fleet had picked up signs of battle from HJ-95B. They had immediately changed course to investigate, and arrived to find the remains of Misa's courier ships and all of their support vessels scattered across the surface of one of the moons of the third planet. It did not even need to be said, it was clear that the Supervision Army was behind it. Obviously, they had returned to their base to find the devastation of the moon where the Phoenix's main cannon had destroyed their production base, and she took this to mean that whoever their leader was probably had the ability to put two and two together and figure out that the same people who ambushed his fleet at Gallaron were behind the destruction of his base. This being true, Misa felt a new level of anxiety as she envisioned great hordes of angry warships lined up to exact revenge on the hapless Megaroad and her Gallaron allies.

At 8:35, she passed the order on to the technicians in the factory satellite to use whatever means necessary to speed up their work, and she explained to them that they were now working on an un-determined time limit. The technicians had guessed the hidden meaning in the statement, and redoubled their efforts with maniacal alacrity. No sooner had she hung up the phone did she get a call on a private line from somewhere else in the city. "Captain speaking." She said automatically.

"Misa, it's me."

"Oh, hi Minmei! What can I help you with?"

"Well, did Hikaru talk to you about meeting my hus... er boyfriend Richard for dinner?"

Misa grinned. Her curiosity about the mysterious Richard quickly mounting. "He mentioned it. Why? You wanna set something up?"

"I guess you could say that."

Misa looked at her schedule to find an opening. "Well, I'm booked solid with tech meetings and briefings, but I think..."

"Tomorrow morning, St. Mary's Church, 10:30 AM."

Misa looked at her schedule. "Oh... sorry Minmei that's kind of a bad time..."

"This is important. I need you to be there."

"C'mon Minmei, it's just breakfast. Can't you just reschedule?"

Minmei sounded agitated on the phone. "Misa, who ran halfway across Megaroad city to find your husband when you had the baby?"

Misa felt like a child on a schoolyard, trying to squirm her way out of buying lunch for her best friend. "Well yeah but..."

"For that matter, who in this entire ship baby-sits for that little psycho more often than I do?"

"But Minmei..."

"Oh, who talked that director into cutting out the whole Roy/Misa sex scene from Fokker's Fate? Have you already forgotten about that?"

Misa was defeated. She knew she owed Minmei a lifetime of gratitude for THAT whole fiasco. She was still angry with the studios for even attempting to imply that she'd had some kind of relationship with Roy Fokker, but she was still eternally grateful for Minmei's help in restricting rampant free speech. "You're right, you've bailed me out too many times since we started this voyage and I owe you."

Minmei exhaled slowly. "Damn right you owe me! But really, I just want you to be there. As my friend." She said solemnly.

Misa giggled. "You sound so serious Minmei! Lighten up! I mean it's just breakfast, right?"

"Uhhh...Right." Minmei said, suppressing a chuckle. "I'll see you tomorrow."

--08:55--

Broli crouched through the door to the Phoenix's main bridge to the sight of many drowsy crewmen half asleep at their stations. Lieutenant Gallow was bobbing from side to side, and Ensign Ryder's head was tilted back and she appeared to have fallen asleep on her feet with her hands on her consol. Broli himself could emphasize, he felt the same way. "Ops, how long until they fix the damn P.A. system?"

The operations officer yawned and looked over her boards again. "Still working on it sir." She rested her head on her elbow and murmured, "What's it like below decks? I haven't been off duty in 10 hours."

"The timing seems to have slowed down. Reveille only sounds every 4 minutes now..." Broli could just make out the far off screaming of trumpets from the lower compartments as the morning reveille played over the P.A. system for the 85th time that morning. "I hate computers. We should just hire someone just to blow the damn horns in the mornings and then let him sleep when he's not needed."

"Yeah, I know."

Broli walked up to the captain's chair on the bridge and buried himself in the seat. He was getting used to command of a warship, the many nuances and procedures, the chain of command and all the regulations to remember, it was almost exactly like being a squad leader of a fighter squadron, only now he was responsible for 20,000 people now instead of a meager 11 pilots. He walked up to the front of the bridge and shook Ensign Ryder, and she snapped awake and straitened up. "I'm sorry Captain..." she said.

"Don't worry about it. Even I need to sleep sometimes, and you've been on your feet for almost 20 hours."

Ryder nodded apologetically. "We sent Adrian bellow for coffee 10 minutes ago, but I think she fell asleep in the lounge..."

The radar monitor started beeping from an energy signature detected far off in front of the ship, headed on an intercept course. Broli walked over and looked at the screen as the radar analysis came through. "Zentradi warships. This is the place alright."

"Is it them sir?" Lieutenant Gallow asked from his station.

He looked at the ships again and checked with the databanks. "No doubt about it. They're the meltrans we've been looking for."

Lieutenant Gallow reached into his pocket for his rabbit's foot, and Ensign Ryder quickly murmured a Buddhist prayer. Broli took a deep breath and sat down in the captain's chair. "Activate pinpoint barrier system, and bring us in closer."

"Aye Captain." Said Ryder. "We're steady on course. Contact point in 5 minutes..."

A blinding radiant light appeared on front of the bridge from a defold reaction. Broli squinted through the harsh after image to see his fleet suddenly surrounded by Zentradi destroyers, and they were now face to face with a Nupitiet-Zergenitz class battleship. The ship immediately hailed them, and a woman's voice thundered through the speakers. "Gallaron soldiers, you are now the property of the Shikari fleet! Surrender your vessels and prepare to be boarded!"

"Mike, open a channel." Broli said.

Gallow swallowed and set up the communication line. The image that now formed on the giant holoscreen in front of the bridge showed a grim visage Zentradi woman wearing some kind of imposing body armor that made her look as vicious and deadly as they'd heard. Broli got the impression that there was something about her that made her seem much more threatening than she probably was, but he could no put his finger on it. He decided to suppress his own fears and speak formally and dispassionately. "We do not surrender to Zentradi. Surrender is something reserved for a superior enemy. If you're Supervisionists, fight us. If your hearts are Zentradi, join us."

"Join you? Broli Kidranik?" She hissed, her lips curling in disgust. "And just why would I subject myself to YOUR lowly existence?"

"Is your vessel fully operational? Do all of your battlepods have weapons and pilots?"

Shikari's eyelid twitched, and Broli noticed he had hit the bullseye. "For your information, my forces are at 110% combat readiness, which is more than I can say for the Bodolza fleet, wouldn't you say?"

Broli smirked. "Shikari, these micronians know how to repair our equipment. They are the last link we have to the people that created us, and they are willing to share that culture with us in exchange for our friendship."

"You speak nonsense Broli! What possible purpose would it serve to befriend a micronian?! No more arguing with me! You have 30 seconds to surrender or I'll blow you out of the stars!"

Broli could see the gun turrets being deployed on the bow of Shikari's battleship. "Standby to fire main cannon." He said. Ensign Ryder wiped the sweat off her forehead and opened the main gun. "Shikari, I can destroy your ship before you can even put a dent in this vessel. We have a new defense system that can repel your assault.

"25 seconds!" She hissed.

"We are rebuilding the factory satellites in orbit of the planet Gallaron. Soon we will have the capacity to build ships faster than the Supervision army can destroy them. Even YOU have to understand the significance of the micronian technology!"

"20 Seconds!"

"And even if you CAN destroy our ships, we have 400 on Gallaron that can still fight! They will come after you!"

"15 Seconds!"

Broli raised his voice as the tension built up. "Soon that number will double. You will no longer be the feared warrior Shikari. You'll be just another Regult pilot surrounded by your enemies, and then the others will engulf and devour you!" Something flashed across her grim face for a fraction of a heartbeat, but Broli caught it and took it to mean he had hit the target. "Soon, General, your name will no longer inspire fear in the hearts of warriors. Once Gallaron is strong again, you will become the object of ridicule!" That spark of emotion was there again, this time long enough for Broli to see it for what it was. Something about the idea of her loosing her reputation filled her with dread, and he knew he could use this to enlist her cooperation at least to a minor extent. This lead him to a new idea, a hunch of sorts, and decided to try and run with it to see how far he could go. "General Shikari, I demand Diwigadrasu!"

Shikari's eyes widened. "A-A duel?!"

"I challenge your authority as a leader and as a Zentradi! I will come aboard your ship and we will fight for command of your fleet."

Shikari stared at him for a moment and then laughed. "Broli, you ARE a fool after all! You really expect me to fall for such an obvious ploy?!"

There was something strained and artificial about her laughter that reminded Broli of something else, but once again he could not think of what. His gut instinct told him that she was hiding something, some weakness that he had accidentally exposed with the challenge. "I expected you, being the fierce warrior that you are, would not back down from a challenge from ANYONE, least of all a micronized Zentradi."

"You insult me Broli. You will not live to regret it. Restore yourself to your warrior's size and meet me on my ship in one hour. Then I shall have the pleasure of disemboweling you and feeding your remains to a trall!"

Broli smiled as the screen cut off and the channel closed. He looked over at Amelia and Mike, who were both terrified at the events that had just taken place. "Captain you can't be serious! You're going to fight that... that crazy Amazon?!"

Broli smiled wider. "I don't think it'll be a problem. Something is very odd about her. I can't put my finger on it, but she's hiding something. I have to see what it is for myself."

"Be careful sir." Amelia said as he left the room.

--09:45--

The Bokata system is devoid of all life and has been so for many centuries. 6 years ago, a battle began between the last strings of the Supervision Army and the Bodolza fleet in what was to be the mother of all space battles. The initial engagement did not go well for the Zentradi, but the Bodolza fleet's 4 million warships were more than a match for the Supervision Army's 10 thousand remaining vessels. The first wave was destroyed easily by the Supervisionists, but the second wave that arrived managed to inflict major damage, destroying most of the enemy fleet and crippling their command fortress beyond the ability to fold out of the system. Though they survived that attack and defeated their attackers, the third wave was to be the death blow that would crush the Supervision Army once and for all. Their small fleet of 2000 ships was clearly no match for the armada that was about to fold into the system, even if they could repair their losses between battles. They were doomed.

But the third wave never came. For that matter, no Zentradi ships ever entered the Bokata system ever again after that. A number of expeditions into Zentradi occupied space revealed something very odd; the Bodolza main fleet was gone, and so were most of the Zentradi forces throughout the surrounding area. It was as if their ancient enemy had simply vanished into thin air, or else gotten tired of the battle and simply packed up and left the galaxy for greener pastures. For those six years after the UN Spacey destroyed the Bodolza fleet, the Supervision Army had been sweeping the Arturo sector of the remnant Zentradi forces there, hunting them down one by one to either destroy them or capture their crew for use in rebuilding their numbers. Their ships were always cannibalized to strengthen their fleet, and by the time the Megaroad arrived at Gallaron they had well in excess of 3000 ships.

But for all this determination and the expansion of the Supervision Army, there was no consciousness behind it. None of the soldiers had a will of their own, and none of the commanders even knew of their identity or origin other than that given to them by their master. The master himself had no true body of his own; the one he inhabited had come into his possession thousands of years ago and had since been gradually enhanced to fit his own needs. At this time, he was two hundred meters tall and weighed slightly more than three thousand metric tons. The body itself was no longer mobile, having been permanently linked to the captured Zentradi command fortress that had been his main vessel for eons. His name was Lacul, and at this point in history, he was the last proto-deviln still at large in the galaxy. 200 millennia ago, his comrades Gepernich, Gavil and Glavil, and the others had been overrun by the proto-culture soldiers and sealed up in the caverns of the very world in which they were created. Lacul's body was destroyed in that same battle, but he survived by inhabiting the body of a Zentradi commander in one of the attack fleets and escaped. Since then, he had tried to rebuild his lost fleet from scratch, using the old proto-culture battleships that were simple in design and easy to repair. Now he was finding his doors open for the first time, and the galaxy seemed his for the taking. "Bodolza and his armies are gone. The Zentradi are scattered and disorganized. The proto-culture is extinct, except for those under my power." He said, thinking out loud. "There is no one left who can stop me. Tell me Kraken, what do we need to become strong again?"

Kraken was a micronized commander type Zentradi bred and trained by Lacul himself. He was one of the 3 living creatures in the entire Supervision Army that had any willpower of his own, and this made him infinitely valuable to Lacul. "Our facilities have been damaged. We need a factory satellite and newer equipment. The vessels in our fleet are ancient, even for proto-culture ships."

Lacul turned his massive head to look at the little spec of a Zentradi standing on the catwalk next to his knees. "I know that, Kraken. But where would we get the things you speak of?"

"The factory satellite in the Erredon system has vanished, obviously it's been moved somewhere. And our fleet has failed to capture the factory satellites at Gallaron."

Lacul suddenly remembered something. "The new forces in that system used reflex weaponry against us, isn't that right?"

"Yes my lord."

"It has been 300 millennia since we last had access to reflex weapons. Regaining that advantage would be an important step..."

"But we don't need Gallaron for that my lord. Our patrol fleets have observed a small group of micronians moving into the Arturo sector who also carry the weapons in vast numbers. We might try their home planet..."

"It would be unwise to attack either Gallaron or these new micronians without our own reflex weapons. It is an advantage we cannot overcome." Lacul remembered what had happened when the proto-culture finally exhausted his supply of reflex weapons after a very skillful campaign of resource containment. Only then, he recalled, did the tide really start to turn against him. The anima-spiritia were merely the final nail...and an enormous nail at that... in the coffin of his demise. "Tell our patrol fleet to capture those micronians and drain their spiritia. We will capture their weapons and use them as templates to produce our own."

"Yes my lord. I will give the orders at once."

--10:02--

Broli did not expect someone like Shikari to be unaccustomed to fighting with men. Her reputation preceded her as one of the few Zentradi commanders who ever bothered to take prisoners, which he assumed was one of the things that made her so resourceful strategically secure. Exactly what happened to those prisoners after she pumped them for information, no one could say, but the fact that they'd been held at all meant plainly that the great warlord Shikari had overcome the old superstition on her own.

Once he was macronized and dressed in his traditional body armor, the Zentradi transport ship docked with Shikari's battleship and Commander Broli stepped on board. He was escorted under armed guard to the training floor underneath the bridge that was generally used for just such a purpose, a massive circular room 100 meters in diameter with floors stained with blood. There was a slightly raised platform in the center of the room, on which Shikari waited for them in a black robe over her own body armor. When they entered the room the General was sitting at one end of the platform on a massive seat that appeared to be lined with Zentradi skeletons. "My dear General, it is time for you to die."

Shikari herself looked huge, and her throne appeared to have been made for someone far smaller than her. Despite returning to his original size, Broli felt like a micronian in her presence. "Broli, you have one chance, just ONE CHANCE to withdraw your challenge, and no one will think less of you."

Broli stepped onto the fighting floor and looked Shikari dead in the eye. "I am not going to yield. Step down from the throne and fight me."

Shikari seemed to be considering something, but glanced over as two of her soldiers stepped onto the platform. "Don't! I'll take this one myself." She said coldly. The two women looked at her nervously and stepped back down to leave the room.

Broli's head was throbbing with anxiety, but he decided to take his gamble to the farthest extreme even if it killed him. "I didn't actually come to fight you General. I came here to offer you a position in the new Army of Gallaron. We need you more than you know."

This intrigued her. She smirked down on him from her throne and chuckled mischievously. "You need me, do you? What's the matter Broli, loose your stomach for fighting?"

"I never intended to fight you General. I simply wanted to place this offer on the table should you become interested. And I happen to know, you did not intend to fight me either, that's why I took the risk."

Shikari glowered at him. "Really? And what makes you think I would back down from the likes of you?"

Broli took a deep breath and dove off the deep end of fate. "Stop playing Shikari. The Micronians do this trick too. I saw it on a TV special."

Shikari looked at him strangely. "A what?"

"Your throne is lined with skulls and bones, but you've reduced the proportions of the bones in order to make yourself look bigger."

"W-WHAT?!"

"And the lighting conditions here cast shadows on your skin. Makes you look stronger, and much more intimidating."

"How could...?!"

"And you're using a hologram to hide the fact your feet don't touch the floor. You are not actually a commander type Zentradi, are you?"

Shikari came half out the chair. "Bastard! Get the hell off my ship!"

Broli stood his ground and continued. "You were designed for data collection and tactical analysis like Exodor Follono and Dr. Varcus. You were hoping I would back down based on your reputation so you wouldn't have to fight, but you were mistaken."

Shikari was speechless. For a few minutes she didn't say anything, but eventually she stepped down from the throne and approached him. He was not at all surprised when the lighting shifted and he saw her at last for what she really was. She was actually quite a attractive, a gentle looking young meltran with a very innocent face and an athletic but certainly unremarkable body type. When she stood in front of him, she was a full head shorter than him and quite a bit thinner. Even Misa would have looked more imposing in Zentradi armor. But something in her voice had also changed. It was soft, somewhat musical in a way, and there was a fluid quality to it that almost reminded him of Minmei. "You can't possibly know what it's like." She said sadly. "The Zentradi are the most formidable fighting force in the galaxy, and here I am, the weakling who somehow got command of one of Lap'Lamiz's battlegroups. I'm an illusion, a trick of light with no power and no real strength."

Broli nodded. "Your reputation fights your battles for you. The enemy considers retreat before the battle even begins. But do you think the Supervision Army cares about your reputation?"

"As long as we keep the others between us and them, we can stay out of direct contact. Most of what my soldiers do now is to herd the other factions into other systems closer to Bokata so they'll leave us alone."

"Bokata? Is that where their base is?"

"We think so, but we're not certain." Shikari looked down and stared at her feet. "Broli... please kill me."

"Why?"

"I can't accept your challenge, I'm just a tactician. I am a coward, and you have to kill me. It is our way."

"I know. But the times have changed. I need YOU more than I need your ships."

"Then I am yours to command, Broli Kaalcha."

Broli was slightly uncomfortable with the situation. Reducing General Shikari to slavery was hardly what he'd intended, and he was not about to subject her to such a humiliation on her own flag ship. "That won't be necessary. I retract my challenge."

Shikari nodded, and turned her gaze away from his eyes. For almost a minute she stood there staring at her feet, and Broli simply waited there in front of her, wondering what to do next. "Shikari," he said at last. "Why don't you join forces with us? The Micronians have restored our link with proto-culture, and soon we will be strong enough to take the fight to the Supervision Army ourselves. We could use a good tactician like you."

"I'm sorry Broli, I can't. The time is not right for us to challenge the proto-deviln."

Broli nodded and turned around to leave. "Then incase you change you mind, I will inform my people to expect your arrival."

"No!" She said looking up again. "They can't know about this! Tell them... tell them I will be watching."

"Watching for what?"

"Just watching. They should interpret that how I expect them to."

Broli grinned and started to leave the room. "You ARE a tactician aren't you?" he said, disappearing through the door.