Robotech - The Invid War - IC

Approaching the Robotech Master ship, it is big; nearly half as long as the Command Cruisers of the UEEF fleet. As you pull in closer, six of the Robotech Master Bioroids slowly approach you, and the lead Bioroid motions for you and Widowmaker Squadron to follow them. They lead you to a large hangar bay capable of holding probably eighty Veritechs in it - leaving you plenty of room to land. The six mecha that guided you in also land their hover sleds and dismount. You get the feeling that they are eyeing the mecha of your two teams with caution, but they are not openly hostile.

When you enter the bay, you are surprised to note that while the large hangar doors are still open, there is atmosphere inside the bay! It has not been evacuated to vacuum by some means.

Along with the six Bioroids, the hangar bay has probably fifty human-looking people in it, and from their obvious fear and lack of armor or weapons, you think that they are all civilians. Among the Tyrolian civilians, there are probably twenty larger aliens, and Jandra recognizes them as the Bear Men of Karbarra.

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OOC Yes, that Bear Man is carrying a Cyclone in its arms.

The lead Bioroid pilot opens up its cockpit and climbs out, revealing a young man in a lightweight jumpsuit and purplish-black hair. He is not armed. He walks up to stand in front of your Veritechs and waits for you to make the first move.
 
John takes a long look around before getting out of his Alpha's cockpit, making sure that is Gallant is on his hip. It doesn't look like we are going to be in a fight, but why take a chance?

He is a bit surprised to note the civilians in the hangar bay until he remembers that this is supposedly a refugee ship. The fact that there is still atmosphere in here, even with the main doors open, is a marvel! Whatever kind of force field that they have up to keep the air in, we need that on our ships, too! That is amazing!

He finally climbs down, but waits for Mike to make the first moves towards the Bioroid pilot. No sense in overstepping his authority.

Rykon Rykon
 
The wariness shown by the bioroid pilots is present on mankind's side as well - at the very least, Jandra herself makes sure that her mecha is never an easy target. Not that there's signs of any backstabbing yet; but you never know what might happen in a moment. The forcefield? Neat, but not too amazing - she's sitting in a piece of more impressive tech. Tech that kills Invids instead of just keeping the air in.

The passengers? Certainly unexpected. Not the civilians, those were announced - but the Bear Men. Never saw them before, in person, so she takes a moment to eye them from the distance. "These larger, hairy ones are from Karbarra, I believe; I'd invite one over, as a sparring partner. Don't know much except the obvious - don't know about the current relations."

As John gets out, she shifts in her seat - ready to act at the slightest sign of danger, though that seems unnecessary. Noone seems inclined to open fire. "Want me out there with you, Lt.? Don't know how much they like my presence."
 
Mike steps forward and offers his hand for a handshake. "I'm First Lieutenant Mike of Orion Squadron. We heard our presence was requested to assist with refugees as I understand it. What can we do to help?"
 
The Bioroid pilot accepts the handshake, and from this distance, you can see that the man looks exhausted, with large bags under his eyes. Even so, his grip is certain and strong, and he looks you in the eye. "I am Flight Leader Ren, and I greet you." He lets go and steps back, then says, "I am, at the moment, the ranking member of the crew. All the others were killed by the Invid in earlier battles. This is a refugee ship, and we are filled beyond capacity with both Tyrolian civilians and Karbarrans numbering in the thousands, and we've been on the run for the past ten days from that Assault Ship." Ren gives off a tired sigh. "If it were not for the Zentraedi escort ship and your timely arrival, we would not have survived much longer. Right now, we need food and medical treatment for many wounded."

1st Lt. Pamela Cruz of the Widowmaker Squad looks over at Mike and you can see her eyes grow wide as Ren gives the details of their plight. She says, "That . . . is beyond what our three ships can handle. We're going to need the rest of the Fleet for all these people. But at the moment, we can at least start with what food supplies that we have on board, along with some techs to patch up the ship."

Ren gives a slight smile. "Any help would be greatly appreciated. There are many lives on this transport, and many more trapped in the Karbarran system that need help."

At this point, Lt. Cruz uses her radio to call back out to the Arwyn and gets them up to speed about the conditions on the ship, and the need for additional help ASAP. While she does that, Ren asks, "Do you wish to see more of the ship?"
 
Cyrus, with a respectable smirk on his face, got out of his ship and stood by Mike, both to allow him and the team to do the talking and also to be right by someone if things get iffy....
Listening to the situation, and noting the force field around them, he thought about anything he could be able to do for them. Whatever the case may be, it'd be great to help out with some allies. As for seeing the ship.... He would stay quiet and leave that to Mike and the crew.
 
Mike nodded, "Yes, we may as well take a look at what's going on. While we're at it though, can you tell us a bit more about these Invid that were chasing you? When did all this start and what is the Karbarran system is currently facing? I'm sure my crew and the others probably have even more questions about just what's been going on out here."
 
Ren nods. "Come. I will show you what you need to see, and as we walk, I will try to answer your questions."

Heading further into the ship, you can see that it is not scaled to be able to accommodate a full sized Zentraedi, with the corridors being not much bigger than the ones you are used to from the Arwyn. The massive Karbarrans are forced to duck down as they walk through here. Despite how wide the halls are, it is single file walking because every spare space in the ship seems to be occupied by either one of the Robotech Master clones or one of the Bear Men slouched against the wall, looking up at you as the team walks past.

The Bioroid pilot begins to talk as he leads you through the ship. "Years ago, I was a part of the military garrison on Karbarra. It was our responsibility to keep the planet safe. The Robotech Masters have been in charge of the system for generations, and things were well set to continue on that same path . . . but then the Invid came. They wiped out the bulk of our defenses in mere hours, leaving only a handful of soldiers in hiding, causing what damage we could before retreating from the overwhelming force that the Invid would respond with. It soon became clear that we could not overcome the might leveled against us, so plans were made to try and escape with as many civilians as we could gather up. Our plan was to try and get to Tyrol, but our distraction effort did not buy us as much time as we had hoped. Two of our three transports were destroyed before we could fold space out of the system, and it was just blind luck that we came across the Zentraedi destroyer. The Captain of the ship used his own vessel to try and protect us, but even that wasn't going well."

Ren leads you from chamber to chamber, each one packed with scores of refugees. He continues to speak. "If it were not for the sudden arrival of your ships, we would probably be dead by now. Every being on this vessel owes your people their lives. We are in your debt."

Milo looks over at Mike and says, "Sir? While we've been walking, I've been transmitting everything I could about what we have seen here, and I just heard from the Arwyn. They have sent a signal out to the New Jersey and have gotten word that the Fleet is on its way to render aid. They should be here within a few hours. In the meantime, the Roger Young and the Dagger are going to pull up along side and begin to transfer over food and supplies while the Arwyn stands guard with the Zentraedi destroyer and the handful of surviving fighters, battle pods and Bioroids out there. The Captain wants us back in the hangar bay to be ready to launch in our Veritechs just in case we get more company."
 
Mike nods as he hears the report. "Sounds like a plan. Let them know orders are acknowledged. Orion Squadron, let's make ready to deploy in case of interruption.”

As the squad move he relays the plan with the bioroid pilot hoping the aid that arrives is sufficient for their needs. "I think I can safely say most of us back home had no idea there was this kind of trouble out here for honest civilians. I can't say for sure where our course will take us, but it looks like we'll be seeing more of those things soon. Godspeed Ren."
 
John is in a state of near shock at the conditions of the refugees on the ship. Things here were worse than anything he's ever seen! Of all the possible outcomes of the trip out to the Robotech Master homeworld, coming across scenes like this was far from his mind. War is a horrible thing, he thinks to himself. It is a sobering thought.
 
Over the course of the next several hours, more ships from the fleet begin to exit fold space nearby and begin to maneuver into position to provide support to the two damaged ships. During this time, there are other Invid ships that try to do some mischief, but the overwhelming force provided by the extra ships of the UEEF forces swat them down quickly, with no loss of allied life.

In order to protect the refugees and the critically important Three Star Fabrication ship from further attack, the fleet gets ready to perform a coordinated fold space jump to get everyone out to deep space to try and avoid any further Invid attack.

The refugees are quickly relocated onto the Pegasus where there is enough room for them. It is quickly learned that the Karbarrans are quite tech savvy, and they are ready and willing to lend their great strength to the UEEF forces as mechanics and technicians, assisting in construction and repair of all kinds. Even the Tyrolian civilians are trying to do what they can to help their rescuers, with many of them volunteering for positions in the UEEF military to fight along side the loyal Zentraedi and humans of the fleet.

Several days pass, and finally, word comes from ship Captain Blaine that Admiral Romanov, the highest ranking officer of the 4th Heavy Assault Division, will be making a general announcement from her flagship of the Bunker Hill. All crew members of the fleet stop what they are doing to listen.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the 4th Heavy Assault Division. Four days ago, our advanced scouts came across a pair of refugee ships from the Karbarra system that were under attack from another alien race known as the Invid. This attack was thwarted by our own pilots and crews of the scouting force. From our time in contact with these refugees, we have learned that the Karbarra system has been invaded and is under the control of the Invid, along with several other systems that were a part of the Robotech Master empire, including their homeworld of Tyrol."

"Our Zentraedi allies have had long experience in dealing with the Invid, since their race was originally created to be the primary military arm of the Robotech Master empire. From them, we have learned that the Zentraedi and Invid have been at war in one form or another for hundreds of years, and the Invid is generally regarded as being unwilling to negotiate in any form what so ever."

"I have been in communication with Admiral Hunter on the SDF-3, and we are in agreement that the worlds under the control of the Invid are in need of aid, and we are going to provide it. As such, we are now preparing to take the step of entering into the Karbarra system and we will then liberate it from the Invid! Our efforts will bring freedom to the many beings that reside in the system."

"Our initial fold space jump will bring us to the outer edges of the Karbarra system where we will begin our exploration of the conditions of the inner system where the major inhabited world lies. Once the offensive begins, it will fall upon the shoulders of the valiant men and women of the fleet to do their best to ensure the safety of as many lives as possible. Over the course of our journey to Karbarra, all hands will be expected to learn as much as you can about the Invid from our files so you can know our enemy."

"Comrades! The battle ahead of us will be trying, but I have faith that we will prevail! Failure is not an option. That is all." With that, the signal from the Admiral comes to an end.
 
John is feeling quite excited at the thought of getting into it with these Invids. The conditions on the Robotech Master's transport were deplorable, and when he hears that there were other transports that didn't make it, the images in his mind of all those lives lost fills him with rage. The UEEF forces were on their way out to Tyrol to try and make some peace, and these nasty Invid seem quite willing to kill on sight. Not quite the nice thing to do, and the Alpha pilot is ready to deal out some hurt on them.
 
Right after the initial encounter with the refugee ship and its Destroyer escort, the two damaged ships are currently docked up on the construction pylon of the Pegasus for rearming and repairs. It is planned to have the two ships join the UEEF fleet to help bolster the numbers of available troops. They will not be repaired enough to be much use to anyone for a while, even with the best and brightest of the fleet working overtime to get them fixed. In the meantime, many of the refugees of the Karbarrans and the Tyrolians are being trained up to work on and operate UEEF gear, but it will be some time before they can join the ranks of mecha pilots.

Time goes by, and the fleet moves towards a war footing, getting ready to make an offensive on the Invid in the Karbarra system. This time, when you fold space out, it will be with the entirety of the fleet with the smaller ships acting as reconnaissance units to scout out the system and get some accurate, real time readings of the enemy movements.

As the fleet prepares for fold space, the ships form up around the three Command Cruisers and everyone gets into position for possible contact with the enemy. This time, as you load into your Veritechs, the wings of your Beta fighters are loaded with missiles, just in case. But fortunately, there are no contacts in sensor range, and you are able to stand down from high alert.

Moving forward towards the inner system, the ships of the 4th Division are approaching a dense asteroid field, one of two in this system. Before moving through it, a series of Raven EW Shuttles are being launched to investigate several large returns on the radar. Orion Squadron has been tasked to escort one of the Ravens into the Belt.
 
John is looking forward to getting into the cockpit once more, and he goes to the deck crewmen and asks for a mix of 40 HEAP and 20 Plasma Short Range Missiles to be loaded on his Alpha. Once done with that, he heads up to begin the pre-flight checklist to prepare for flight.
 
Finally back in the cockpit, at last. There's been many words, speeches, concerns over the last few days; but very little actual action, nothing compared to the thrills of battle. Nothing like beating the Invids head-on - can't ask for a better foe than those, no worries about morals where they're involved. Before the true battle can begin, though - reconnaissance, with the squad on escort duty.

"Jandra reporting in, all systems online. Anyone else happy to actually get going, or am I the only one who hates high alert without a good reason?" A short pause as she leans back a little more, adjusting the seat's position by what should make no difference whatsoever. "Just to make sure: There is the real chance that these things on the radars are actually opposition, not just unfortunately-sized rocks, right? This isn't one of those patrols where everyone knows there isn't anything out there, is it? Would be a shame to have bothered the crewmen for nothing."

Bothering, in this case, meant securing the very same loadout as before - why change what worked like a charm?

8 Frag-Minis
56 HEAP SRM
4 Smoke (2 red, 2 blue)
 
Once orders come in for their next deployment, Mike sends over the orders to the rest of Orion Squadron with a note to gather in an hour to review the orders, verify formation, prepare payloads, and inspect their mechs prior to a potential engagement.
 
At the meeting prior to your launch, you can all tell that Milo is very nervous about this whole thing. It seems that being launched out to face this practically unknown foe has him rather unsettled. You don't get the feeling that he's about to choke up or anything like that, but he's is quite anxious. Some of it might just be the realization that this is the first planned mission where combat is almost certain to be expected, and other than the sudden and unexpected encounter with the refugee ships, this is one of his only real combat missions of his life.

He manages to say through a shaky voice, "LT, I have loaded all the data that we have on the Invid into everyone's computers, so you should have no trouble with target acquisition and identification. I've also got the Raven's comm systems pre-loaded onto your radios, and I'll confirm the electronic link-up once we are in the cockpit."

As time gets closer to launch, the young man is getting noticeably pale.
 
John can see that Milo is tense, so the big man goes over to the worried youngster. "Hey. This is just like in the training sims. All you got to do is remember that you are the cream of the crop, and that the Earth has successfully faced off against the bulk of the Zentraedi armada and has come out on top. You are a product of that training, flying the most advanced mecha that the galaxy has ever seen. Finally, just remember that you are a part of this kick-ass squadron, and that you've got all of us on your side to watch your six. We've got this, man."

The Marine exudes confidence, knowing that what he's saying is the unvarnished truth.
 
Milo gives his fellow squadmate a shaky grin. "Uh, yeah, I guess so. Its just that the last time, it was all so unexpected that we ran into the fight when we did. This time, I get to sit about and ruminate about what is about to happen, and I think its getting to me." He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down a bit, but he's still nervous.
 
Cyrus goes to the worried pilot as well, understanding his concern. "I understand how you feel, Milo...." He said, trying to sympathize with him. "But even if that last fight was unexpected, we ended up winning with minimal damage. Knowing about this one, we're better prepared for it." He gave a look at John, sharing his contagious smile. "And.... Like he said, we've got this."

40 MM-20's
16 MM-16's
 
"Minimal damage, thanks to your piloting, Milo; and we blew them up without an idea how they actually fight. Heck, you shot down the last one, right? They should fear you, not the other way around; they're just too stupid to be afraid, we'll teach them in time." Her thumb points at Cyrus, then Jandra adds: "Plus, he was late last time, even; imagine him gunning them down right from the beginning, wouldn't have taken a single scratch then. Good shooting, there, by the way. What's the plan, you're flying with the leader this time, or separate?"
 
That WAS a good question.... He didn't mind sticking to an Alpha when it came to it, though the last fight, he did pretty well, even with the best of them. Still, he didn't think he should be the one to make a call.
"Honestly, that's up to the leader. As long as it gets the job done, I'll be whereever." He said.
 
A quick check on the mission profile and the flight speeds needed, you'll need to at least start out linked up. The Raven is quite a bit faster than you guys (Mach 12), so if you want to be able to keep any decent speed going, it will require you to be using your Beta Fighters as your booster rockets. At least until you get into contact with the Invid.
 
With the reassurances from the members of the squad, Milo looks a little bit calmer, but he's still a bit on edge. He manages to give off a grin, and says, "Thanks, guys. That does help a bit." He looks down at the tablet in his hands and taps the screen a few times. "I'm going to go with a full load of six Medium Range Missiles on my wings; if we do spot some baddies, I can reach out and touch someone at a long distance before they even know we're there and really ruin their whole day. The rest of my missiles will be a mix of Plasmas and HEAP Shorts."

Assuming that there is no other business to deal with in the briefing room, the next stop is the hangar bay to prep your Veritechs for launch. You now have fifteen minutes before going airborne. While you begin your pre-flight checklists, the comms people on the Command Deck link you electronically with the Raven EW shuttle, call sign Big Eye 5. On your cockpit screens, an attractive lady comes up. "Orion Squad, this is Sgt. McNamara on Big Eye 5, and I will be your stewardess on this mission! Our in-flight movie tonight will be the Sci-Fi classic Aliens, so grab your popcorn and Cracker Jack boxes and enjoy. Seriously sirs, our mission profile is set to be a eighteen hour flight, so make sure you trade off on the throttle-and-stick time and get some rest while you can. Any questions?"
 

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