Robotech - Southern Cross Adventure

[Purr]

Gundam Watcher 27

Gabriela nodded to Ryuko and patted her fellow squadmate on her shoulder. "Hey, go get cleaned up and crashed out, amiga. You need me to bring you some chow or something, you call me, O.K.?"

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Purr

Ryuko would nod.

"I'll let you know."
Ryuko would then take her leave.

 

[Purr]

"O.K.!" Gabriela left Ryuko to her own devices while her hunt to find souvenirs for her family continued.

If it were within regulations and considered decent conduct (or at least not bad conduct), Gabriela toured the non-sterile, non-sensitive, "public" areas along with Dragonfly, recording a virtual tour as it were for her family's enjoyment. None of her entire family would likely ever make it up here into space, but as long as Gabriela was here, she would be looking back at Earth from orbit, and thinking of them very fondly. She asked around with the Aluce pilots and crew how to best make all of this happen. Canteens (or something else usable and practical from the Moon base) were hopefully in decent supply!

 

[Psychie]

Six weeks.

Six long weeks of being stuck on the Moon while the fleet tries to break through the blockade of the Earth. At the very least, there has been little to no combat actions for you to worry about, so the members of the Third Heavy Squadron have had a good amount of time off to rest and recuperate while you wait for a ride back Earthside. At least the good news is that all your mecha are fully repaired. During this time, the TASC forces on the Moon have tried three different times to slip forces through to reestablish contact with Earth, since all communications between the Earth and the Moon have been jammed by the enemy, but without any success.

In the meantime, Deunan and Marlon have been working with the fresh recruits of the ground forces, trying to get them a bit closer to combat ready. The base commander has given you the green light to pull up as much as one quarter of the total ground units at a time, just to keep Aluce covered just in case of an alert being called. Only the Robotech Masters know when that will be, though.

Most likely this training would involve the other members of the Third Heavy as you kick up some Moon dust and rocks with various exercises to put the trainees through their paces. It quickly becomes clear to Deunan and the team that you are dealing with a bunch of 1st through 3rd level mecha pilots, with a few 4th and 5th level members mixed in for good measure. This puts the team as the highest level squad on the Moon, and that includes the aerospace pilots of the TASC. No one else has as much combat experience as you have had.

All in all, the ground forces are responding well to the training drills that you have come up with, and you all can see the surprising amount of progress that is being made across the board. It will still take a bit of seasoning to get these guys and gals ready to hold their own in a real match.

It is at this time that we find our heroes fast asleep in their racks when you are rudely awakened by the emergency alert klaxon. It takes you a few minutes to armor up and get your way to your mecha, and soon after, Neo is doing her thing to interlink the radio signals between all of you and the command center of Aluce base.

She excitedly spouts off with, "Hey guys! Get a load of this! There is a massive fold space signal popping up almost right on top of us! Its not a fleet of ships, but one single object that is . . . over twenty miles across! Satilite image of the object is coming on line now. Patching it through."



The image that comes on your screens is a very large station or ship of some kind, with the central body measuring seventeen miles across and thirteen miles tall, with the three large outer pods adding another six miles to the thing. It is the single largest constructed object you have ever seen, and that counts the Robotech Master Motherships! Several of those huge warships could fit inside this with room to spare!

Neo quiet voice breaks the silence with a heartfelt, "Oh, shit!"

Those with Lore: Zentraedi or Lore: Tyrollians can make a roll to identify this. A Robotechnology Engineering roll can be attempted also, but at -10%, and Mecha Engineering can be tried with a -15% penalty.

 

[D. Rex]

Were they really the highest level pilots here? Had it really been that long? Have they really fought in that many battles already? It was hard to believe, the war seemed so mushed together. Still. When it came to helping others learn, he would do so with fervor.

What he could teach wouldnt be all that useful in space, being an earth pilot, but that didnt mean he couldnt share what he knew about space combat. A lot of what he focused on was more inward. Taking care of their tanks, what to do when particle cannons shorted out and ballistic cannons jammed. When systems overloaded. And what sort of errors to look for on preflight checks. Best ways to make use of explosive rounds and when to use which. What formations to look for to make the most of a well placed MPAT. And, of course, the dangers of mines. Which could easily be placed in space and moon soil just as easily as under sand and sod. Probably even more dangerous in space, as they would be hard to see against the black of space.

Lastly, just because they were in the moon or in zero g meant they could slack in the physical ability department. He almost insisted doubly so seeing all them physically prepared.

All the while spending what time he could with Duenan in the meantime.


Though when the alarms came, he was as quickly ready as the rest of them. And when he stared at the images Neo pulled up, he stared hard.

"That...that's a space station!" He exclaimed.

Marlon leaned closer, examining it as best he could and putting his engineering degrees to good use.




Robotech engineering 98%, -10% : 88%

 

[Purr]

Lastly, just because they were in the moon or in zero g meant they could slack in the physical ability department. He almost insisted doubly so seeing all them physically prepared.

This was not an area Marlon had to worry about as far as Gabi was concerned; the Recon Patrol soldier genuinely enjoyed keeping in shape and she and the nearby gym were soon acquainted after it had been determined Third Heavy Recon was going to be staying on the moon for awhile.

But no workout could have kept her from what was on the monitors now. The sight of the space station had brought a cheer to her eyes, for this was something unexpected, something new, something alien, and something to do. Any way you looked at it - it sure was something! =)

 

[Sherwood]

Rolling for Deunan - Lore: Zentraedi is 98%

 

[Psychie]

"That...that's a space station!" He exclaimed.

Not just a space station, but it is in fact a Robotech Factory! All of you recognize the Factory for what it is thanks to your past history lessons and briefings on the mecha and ships of the Zentraedi war machine. A massive automated factory station that travels around the galaxy, set to repair and rearm the ships of the Zentraedi fleet and mecha forces. These factories are capable of building on a scale that boggles the mind. This one station could conceivably build a fleet of several dozen Zentraedi ships in the matter of only a month or two!

Only one other Robotech Factory has been encountered by the forces of Humanity, and it was captured intact and used to create the SDF-3 and the UEEF fleet, down to the last Veritech Fighter. That one station then left the Earth to travel with the SDF-3 to help maintain and repair the ships of the UEEF on their mission to Tyrol, the homeworld of the Robotech Masters.

Obviously, the presence of the Factory here, now, is a major game changer, and it could spell disaster for the forces of the ASC.

A hour slowly passes by with the Third Heavy sitting anxiously in their mecha before the order comes for you to dismount and head to one of the pilot ready rooms near the mecha hangar. In the room you are joined by a small crowd of squad leaders and high ranking brass of Moon Base Aluce. At the head of the room is a large screen showing the Robotech Factory in what looks to be a live shot from long distance, and as soon as the last seat is filled the base CAG (commander of air group) steps forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Approximately two hours ago, our sensors detected a major gravitational wave that signaled to us that something big was emerging from fold space. At first, we thought it was more ships of either the Zentraedi or the Robotech Masters coming and that we were under attack, but we have since been able to identify this target as a Robotech Factory, an automated drone designed to rearm and refit the ships of the Zentraedi and Robotech Masters. Now, you all should remember from your history classes that humanity has encountered one of these things before, and we used it to build the entirety of the Expeditionary Force fleet, including the SDF-3. Given its potential, we cannot allow this station to rendezvous with the Robotech Master forces here in the system, or we will never be able to wear them down."

The CAG makes eye contact with the squad leaders one at a time as he continues with his briefing. "Right now, things have conspired to work in our favor. The Robotech Master bulk of the ships around the Earth are all poorly positioned to allow them the opportunity to maneuver out here in less than twenty hours, with only a few support vessels in our neighborhood. Combined with the fact that we have seen a major offensive being launched by our forces from the Earth against the enemy, it is tying them up even more, giving us the time we need to take the initiative and strike a major blow."

"We are splitting our mecha and aerospace forces into thirds. The first and the largest group is being tasked with intercepting the support vessels that are coming to rendezvous with the Factory. The second group is our emergency reserve of ground mecha that will deploy to keep Aluce from being totally undefended. The third group is the smallest but most important: an insertion team that has the task of getting into the Factory and either shutting down the main computer by destroying it, or better yet, capturing the Factory. This task is going to fall upon the shoulders of our guests, the Third Heavy Recon. Now, let me turn the briefing over to Major Sumpter."

At this point, the GMP officer stands and takes the podium. "Thank you." She looks to the members of the Third Heavy with a serious expression. "When the RDF made the initial contact with the first Robotech Factory and examined the computer system, scientists made up a specialized virus program designed to go into the operating system of a Factory computer and recode its Identify Friend and Foe algorithms to recognize RDF forces and command codes as friendly. After the UEEF left, the GMP updated this virus to include ASC mecha and command codes in the rare event of contact with another Robotech Factory being made. Today, your mission is to input this virus into the main computer of the Factory and to claim it for Earth."

Eva Sumpter gives you a grim smile. "I know; this sounds like an impossible mission. But you will have many advantages on your side to make this possible. First off, the main computer of the Factory will not initially consider a small group of unidentified mecha a threat until you make yourselves a target. This will get you to the front door. Unfortunately, the door will be locked and the welcoming party inside will be hostile and deadly. While the Robotech Factory is unmanned, it does have a small army of robotic defenders and automated weapon systems that will pop right out the walls. If you use your heads, don't panic and keep moving, you'll be able to beat the factory defenses. The one complication you will have is that you must contain your attacks to the drones as much as possible and not damage the factory itself. No blowing out entire walls or sections. I cannot stress this enough. Damaging the factory could render it useless to us, but even more important, it will upgrade you from being a minor threat to a major one in the eyes of the computer, and then it could overwhelm you with robots or worse."

"This operation has three basic steps.

"Step one is insertion. That is the easy part. Either bypass the locks on one of the small airlocks or blow the door. Either way the station will move to repair the damage right away, so you may encounter a repair drone or some combat drones. Avoid engaging for as long as possible, because your biggest advantage is the fact that the computer will not know what your mecha can do. Do not show your full capabilities for as long as possible to keep the computer from being able to fully evaluate your threat level.

"Step two will be to disengage the fold space engine. This is critical. Do this and you are halfway done, and by disengage I mean disengage, do not destroy. A simple hit to the wrong location can cause a catastrophic chain reaction that will destroy half the station if we are lucky." She nods over to one of the others in the room. "This is Dr. Evan Costas, lieutenant in the Tactical Corps. He is qualified on the Myrmidon Hover Tank, and will be riding into the fight with you in that. It is going to fall on his shoulders to be able to safely sabotage the fold engine. It will take him only a few minutes to disconnect the necessary components to take the fold engine off line. The problem you will be faced here is twofold. First, if the computer figures out that the fold engine is your target, the computer will send a large strike force of drones against you. You will be vastly outnumbered. Don't mess around with them; hit them hard and take them out as fast as possible to cover Dr. Costas. Second, once the good doctor begins his work, the computer will know what he is doing and will initiate an emergency space fold. You will have TEN minutes to disable the engine before you are all taking a very long trip. Once you have the engine disabled, get the hell out of there to your next objective. Don't waste time or ammunition fighting drones."

Step three will be to enter the virus program into the main computer. You will have ninety minutes, I repeat ninety minutes to get this done. Why? Because it will take the repair drones that much time to repair the damaged systems on the fold engine and initiate the space fold. You will also be identified as a prime threat, and defenses will be at 100% against you. But once you get the virus into the system, it will attack the prime functions of the computer, starting with the fold engine, keeping you in this system and identifying your IFF codes as allies. Just like the fold system, we need that computer undamaged. Without it, this whole station is just so much scrap metal, and it would take us too long to build a new computer before the Robotech Masters can successfully recapture or destroy the place. The automated defenses have to be up and functional, and that takes the computer."

"Now, to boost the odds even more in your favor, I am temporarily assigning you two Logan pilots to help diversify your mecha complement and make the computer take longer to identify strengths and weaknesses of your mecha. Also, we have rough deck plans for you to be able to find your way around inside the Factory, based off of the other station the RDF captured. Be aware that there may be variations on the exact layout, so just consider this a guide and use your heads as you move around."

"The method of insertion will be by assault shuttle, deploying you ten miles out to keep the larger shuttle out of the range of the point defense guns of the station. You will then fly up under your own power using the mecha jet packs for the hover tanks. Also, it is quite likely that once you are close to the station, radio contact will be cut off due to the heavy interference and the sheer bulk of the metal blocking your signals."

"Now, I am sure you have many questions, but I urge you to keep it short. Your tanks are being loaded on the shuttle even as we speak."

 

[Purr]

Gabriela raised her hand. "Do we have any idea who sent this thing? Is there a way we can stay on the computer's good side? You know, like, telling it we are there to repair it? Not like we're lying to it."

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan's mind is racing, and she finally manages to say, "Ma'am, I have several questions. Do we have any idea on just what kind of defenses the station has, both in the way of exterior guns and the unmanned drones? Also, if this is a Robotech Factory, does anyone have an idea of why it is not responding to the Masters here in the system? How many copies of this virus are we going to get? Finally, what if we don't try to disable the fold engine and just go straight for the computer? What would that do for us?"

 

[D. Rex]

"Not likely unless we can get our mecha to mimic the bioroids signatures. And even then, we would need to know what sort if signal they are looking for. Even a computer can tell shapes when looking through a camera."

"If I could have some time some downed bioroids, and with Alan's help, I might be able to rig something up, depending on what the labs have discovered. But unless it's already made, chances are pretty slim anything could be made by the time we depart." He said regretfully.

"But... it might not hurt to bring some jammers and specialized flares. IR and camera detection equipment might also be handy. Sensors are easier to fool than the naked eye, especially when they are only looking for specific patterns. The problem is we dont know what they have. Thermal. Vibration. Laser. Radar. Visual. Audio. Etcetera. They could be using any combination or all."

 

[Purr]

Gabriela turned to Marlon. "I don't mean to fool the computer, Marlon - I mean to make contact with it and ally ourselves with it from the get-go. Is this, like, feasible? I mean, why chance making it hostile in the first place? That'll just make our job harder down the road when we're trying to make this thing our... ally. Isn't that, you know, counterproductive?"

The Recon Patrol in Gabi was coming out - De Oppresso Liber was their latin motto. It meant to "to liberate the oppressed." As far as Gabi was concerned, at least at this stage in the mission, the Robotech Master's computer was an oppressed being.

 

[Psychie]

The Major listens intently to your questions, then replies, "It is possible that this computer is a high functioning AI. We know that the Robotech Masters have the ability to make artificially intelligent computers, but we have only one actual encounter of one of the Robotech Factories, and that one did not have an AI. Its computer was very sophisticated and powerful, but not an AI. From what we have heard from our Zentraedi allies, the Masters are very much against free will of any kind, so it is unlikely that this station can make its own decisions. I can say that we have tried unsuccessfully to establish contact with the station, despite all of our different communication means. It is just sitting out there, silent and unresponsive."

"At this point, we can only speculate as to why the station has arrived in our system. One possibility is that when the Zentraedi fleet was first deployed here, a Robotech Factory was automatically ordered to arrive in order to repair any damaged ships. Or, it is simply following the Robotech Master fleet. Or one of any number of reasons that we may never know the truth behind."

Looking over at Deunan, Eva says, "We have only one Factory to go by, but what that station had in the way of defenses consists of multiple heavy laser turrets on the exterior hull, short range and long range missile launchers, and light defensive laser batteries. Inside, there will most likely be fixed gun emplacements, and the various combat drones." She turns to the screen on the wall behind her and presses a button on her remote. Several photos come up.



"This is a picture of the Light Assault Robot. It is relatively small, measuring only six feet tall and twelve feet long, but it is fast with an atmospheric speed of Mach 2, and it goes even faster in space. It is armed with three laser turrets that give it a hefty punch, even for its small size."



"This is a Heavy Assault Robot. Based off of the venerable Regult Tactical Battle Pod, it is up-armored compared to them since there is no need for a pilot, and it is fast both on foot and it is flight capable, just not quite as fast as the Light Robot, but it has multiple particle beam cannons to make up for it."



"The last combat drone has been categorized as a Primary Defense Robot. Based off of the Female Powered Armor, it is fast and packed with a full complement of 126 mini-missiles, autocannons and lasers, making it very dangerous to tangle with."




"There are three basic repair drones that you can expect to run into. They have minimal weapons, but the real danger that they pose is the link that they have with the main computer. What they see will be reported back, and if you are spotted, you can bet dimes to dollars that there will be combat drones heading in your direction shortly."

 

[Psychie]

Finally, what if we don't try to disable the fold engine and just go straight for the computer? What would that do for us?"

Giving Deunan her attention, the Major says, "Lieutenant, that is a decision that is up to you to make. Either way, we have to keep this station out of the hands of the enemy, by any means necessary."

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan nods. "Understood, ma'am. You said there are some rough deck plans available? I would like to know where we are going in there."

 

[Psychie]

"Affirmative. All the data we have on the Robotech Factory is already downloaded into each of your mecha. Also, each of you will have a hard copy of the virus in the Zentraedi equivalent of a USB flash drive. The station is geared for both Zentraedi and Master use, so you will be able to find ports to plug your drives into and upload the virus in the command center."

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan thinks about what has been said so far, and while she is still curious about many things, she also knows that time is of the essence. "I think that unless there are any other questions, we should be making our way to the assault shuttle. I just want to touch base with these two Logan pilots to get a read on them. Ma'am, if there is nothing else, we have a Factory to capture."

She turns to this Lt. Costas. "Are you ready to roll? Lets get a move on."

 

[Purr]

Gabriela nodded from beside Lt. Conway. She was ready to make this mission happen!

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Psychie

Ryuko would listen closely to what they were dealing with. She unfortunately didn't pay much attention in history class, so hearing about the Robotech Factory was a first for her.

There's alot of enemy units to watch out for as well. Not to mention the information about the heavy assault robot.

But seeing the image for it, it didn't appear to have any on hand melee weapons so maybe....

"Major, permission to speak sir?"

 

[Psychie]

Psychie

Ryuko would listen closely to what they were dealing with. She unfortunately didn't pay much attention in history class, so hearing about the Robotech Factory was a first for her.

There's alot of enemy units to watch out for as well. Not to mention the information about the heavy assault robot.

But seeing the image for it, it didn't appear to have any on hand melee weapons so maybe....

"Major, permission to speak sir?"

Maj. Sumpter looks to Ryuko and nods. "Of course. Speak your mind."

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

"Taking into consideration that the factory has little to no close combat capabilities (not forgetting about the Primary Defense Robot), maybe I could draw the enemy's attention and lure them away while the rest of the team proceeds to deliver the virus."

She then looked at her fellow pilots.

"I know it will be dangerous, but I know I can do it! I've been in enough close combat situations to tell that these machines are not going to be expecting me. If I can get permission, I Know I can pull it off!"

She then laughed as she scratched the back of her head.

"Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I think this is definitely my time to shine."

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan looks over at Ryuko with a blank stare. "You want to try and punch your way through hundreds, possibly thousands of robotic mecha? Some of which are modeled after the FPA? If you are in the process of swinging on one, what is to keep them from just opening fire on you from a distance? So what if they take out one of their own. It will still come out as a significant win for the computer with each one of us it can disable. Lets keep our heads about us and stick to using melee attacks as a last resort."

 

[Purr]

Gabi facepalmed. "Bad enough that you're a glory hound, desperada, now you want to be a martyr too? Shall we pin your medals to your coffin?"

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Deunan looks over at Ryuko with a blank stare. "You want to try and punch your way through hundreds, possibly thousands of robotic mecha? Some of which are modeled after the FPA? If you are in the process of swinging on one, what is to keep them from just opening fire on you from a distance? So what if they take out one of their own. It will still come out as a significant win for the computer with each one of us it can disable. Lets keep our heads about us and stick to using melee attacks as a last resort."

Ryuko chuckled.

"Who said anything about punching? Didn't we pack a couple of Tachyon Cutters with us? Although, there's a chance that I might end up getting shot down before I even get to engage the enemy. "

Gabi facepalmed. "Bad enough that you're a glory hound, desperada, now you want to be a martyr too? Shall we pin your medals to your coffin?"

Ryuko would scoff at that.

"Why would you even say that?! I'm not trying to get myself killed!"

Ryuko then calmed herself down.

"Look, we can't guarantee that this mission will be like what we were briefed about. What I'm asking is to be the bait to draw the fire while you guys sneak in. I don't even care if I need to go in bare handed, all I ask is for the chance to try and do what I'm good at, and prevent any unexpected surprises from happening! All I ask for is some extra armor or something, and maybe a few dozen missiles."

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan says, "Assuming you go for quantity, your Ajax already comes packed with sixty mini missiles, and it is not like our mecha comes with a large cargo area to be able to pack even more. Lets focus on getting to the Factory, then we can evaluate just how strong of a defense that the computer throws up in our path to see if we can afford to split our squadron."