Robotech: UEEF Saga

Serena has been thinking about this very same question for some time.  What if the Invid have done something more to Dana, and we just don't know all the harm that has been done to her?  But then, she thinks about how hard it would be on Dana if she was not hiding some hidden agenda and she was not allowed to return to her team?  "Ma'am, I would be a poor teammate to turn her away when she needs us the most.  If we are thinking in the most pessimistic way that the Invid or the Haydonites have done something to her that we haven't yet discovered, who better to keep an eye on her than us?  I say we take her back and let her show us what she's made of, and use the Invid tech against them."
 
Miu nods in agreement. There has been much talk during the last couple of days, with all those white coats who claim to know more about her thoughts than she does herself. Wasted time, really, though it succeeded in making her more thoughtful for at least a short while. Until now, to be precise. "In all honesty: If you really feel like putting your bets on Haydonitean technology, our squad will be the safest spot for her to be - and I won't let her get anything but the best. I value those highly who fought by my side, no matter if they pose a risk, opportunity or whatever else you can come up with." She does not even try to hide the reproach behind her words. "If you're worried about the proper functioning of the machinery that accidently earnt you all those nifty things they might come up with - reassigning Dana would be a great way to take it apart. Quite frankly, the cause of these changes is much more concerning to me than Dana Simms could ever be. But that's part of my reports already, so I suppose you at least took note of it."
 
Jackie look to the others for but a moment and gave a shrug. "Everything is fine by me, shouldn't be my call anyways. I'm just the new guy." he essentially washed his hands of the decision. "Wouldn't be right though, to take her off the team. That's what I think." he added in before keeping quiet. 


If he didn't want her in he was out numbered anyways. Besides, Dana is still a sweetheart right? Or... did this whole thing break her?
 
The CAG nods, a pleased look in her eye. "Excellent. I'll inform her that she is back on fight status with your team. I'm glad that you are showing such loyalty to Lt Simms. She is lucky to have you. Now, get going so I can get back to work. Lt Ueno, I'll let you have the honors of giving her the good news."


When you find Dana, she is down in one of the pilot lounges, reading a book. She smiles as you approach. "Hey. What's up? I'm just catching up on my reading. I've always enjoyed a good spy thriller. What's going on?"
 
Jackie smirked at the sight, so casual, after all that went down. "Spy thriller? Being a pilot ain't enough of a thriller for you?" he chuckled a bit before glancing to the others. His smirk changed into one of a sad frown. 


"We got Bad news Dana, terrible news actually. It seems, now hold on to yourself when I say this, it seems you are..." he paused "Going to be stuck with us for a good while longer." he broke his pretend frown with a slight smile as he spoke. "Now I know how terrible yea must hate dealin' with ol' Jackie, but that's just how it is. Must be the work of evil spirits possessing our supieriors I'd say."
 
"Evil spirits, and a few damned souls that wouldn't dare to lift off without you. Hope you don't mind our company too much, we just made sure you won't get rid of us anytime soon." While spoken in a jokingly fashion, there is a pinch of hesitancy in there. "Command said you'd be ready to return to duty - they probably didn't plan on you to read through their whole onboard library first."


It's a rather strange habit of her, really - apart from user manuals and reports, there hasn't been too much time for written words in Miu's life thus far. Why read a thriller when your own life is just a more enthralling version of it?
 
While you were in hiatus, another division made contact with a different world occupied by the Invid, this one is inhabited by a race of women called Paraxians. These aliens are on average over seven feet tall, some as much as eight feet tall, and they are all women. Apparently, the East the species reproduces is a combination of advanced cloning and a generic manipulator to create enough diversity to keep the race from becoming stagnant. 


The Paraxians are a strange mix of high tech medical knowledge and archaic ways. They do not have any mecha like the other known races do, instead they prefer using bows with explosive tipped arrows and spears with a high speed vibrating blade that can do mega damage. They are a fierce warrior race, similar in nature to the Zentraedi, and will make very loyal allies once the planet is liberated. 


The mission briefing begins as they all do, with Commander Holloway giving details on the planet and the various objectives. "This part of the mission is going to be involving mostly air power. The Paraxians utilize an advanced anti gravity system to make their capitol city fly, so other than Cyclones,  ground units will not be used in the city. There are two different critical targets that we must secure in order to save the Paraxians as a species. The first is the central Temple and Birthing Center that contains the genetic materials needed to clone more of the aliens. It is a sacred structure, and the Invid have been using it as blackmail to keep the population under control. Luckily, it is a hardened building, so a stray shot well not destroy the building.


The second mission critical objective is the anti gravity generators. There are six separate generators, but the city only needs three to stay in the air. If the city is destroyed, it will eliminate millions of Paraxians in the initial blast and cause the race as a whole too die off. We will not allow that to happen. Once the initial wave of fighters are on site, we will be paradropping Cyclones to enter the lower levels of the city to secure the gravity generators. 


As with our last run, we are going to have to deal with the threat of a nerve gas attack from the Scrim Inorganics. Keep watch for them at all times. Squad leaders, stand by to review your particular squad orders."


This time around, Crimson Squad is going to be leading the effort to capture and secure the Birthing Center. 
 
Jackie stayed quiet throughout most of the meeting, not to much to say... Save for the fact they were 8 foot tall giantesses that resembled something from ancient human myths. But here they were, living, breathing, flesh. Well, kinda, only hearing about them now. 


Still, Jackie has the feeling, a strong feeling, that he should stay close to dovey for this mission. As many would have the curiosity to wonder what would happen if one were interact with... Gigantic amazonian woman his mind ain't taking the fast track to the gutter with this one. 


Granted, these spears and explosive arrows must be some powerful. A curiosity that he'll have to wait and see about. 


"Who knew there was a whole race of folks like you three, where are you keeping your bow and spears eh?"
 
Serena takes copious notes on the main city, thinking that it looks remarkably like the flying city in the Empire Strikes Back, what was it called again?  Bespin.  That's what it was.  "No need to wonder where I keep my spear.  Perhaps if you are a good boy, I'll show it to you sometime.  But, for this run, we are going to have to be careful not to lay waste to the Temple.  Even if it means taking a few shots that we would normally dodge out of the way of.  So, we are going in with me in the Alpha, Miu in her Beta, and Dana and Jackie in Valks?"  She nods to herself.  "We can do it; kill any Invid making a run at the Temple.  As you humans say, easy peasy."
 
"G-Good boy?" Jackie sputtered for a moment, turning red faced. "Now you be careful talkin' to a man like that! Don't know what your doin..." he hid his face before clearing his throat once more. 


"...Give a guy a wrong idea."
 
"Well, you pretty much asked for an answer like that, right? By the way, that skin color looks good on you - actually goes well with the squad name and all..." A sneer reaches Miu's lips, before she turns back to the provided material in front of them. "As long as we're at the temple in time, it shouldn't be too hard to stand our ground there. I don't really want to fight in the interior, though." She raises her hand, trying to get the Commander's attention. "How huge are the average hallways in the Birthing Center? Any chance we can get our mechas in there in case something goes wrong?"
 
"Bunch of bloody Succubi, teasin' poor Jackie." he grumbled, trying desperately to think on something else... Thankfully Meow had the idea before him it seems. "Might have to deal with any of those gassy assholes who might try to get in. Gassholes? Here's hoping no cockroaches get digging into the woodwork."
 
The CAG checks her tablet. "It would appear that the main entrance is large; approximately twenty five feet tall, so an Alpha in battloid or guardian modes can make it inside without too much effort. A Beta will be forced to duck down in its battloid mode, or fold its wings in while in its guardian mode. The inner chamber is a circular domed room nearby a hundred feet tall and wide, but the smaller corridors leading off are much smaller. It would take soldiers on foot or in a Cyclone to get access to the inner halls and rooms. Best to keep the larger mecha outside."
 
"We'll just stop them before they can reach the temple, makes things much easier for us. Don't want to have Jackie get stuck in an Amazonian temple anyway, seems like he's already questioning life decisions with only the three of us nearby. Anything else we should be aware of? If not, I suggest we'll be on our way - clear our minds, then jump into action. It's not like the Invids would wait for us to defend the temple, right?"
 
Commander Holloway nods in agreement.  "Whatever you have to do to keep the Temple safe, do it.  All other damage to the city can be repaired, but that Birthing Center is the only thing keeping the Paraxians alive as a race.  Without it, they will die out.  Lets see, along with Crimson Squad, the Temple compound will be guarded by Viper Squad and Vermillion Squad, giving us a strong air presence over the Temple.  Two more squads, the Black Widows and Dagger Squad, will be on Scrim hunt duty, but will be available to reinforce the Temple guards if support is needed, but they may be busy, so don't count on them to be able to respond immediately.  We will be dropping in the Cyclones to take up positions inside the city, to protect the anti gravity generators until the Hover Tanks can get to the city and take positions to defend the critical locations. 


We will be launching our first wave attacks to clear the airspace for the fleet to come in close in two hours.  Second wave units will follow shortly after that."  She taps some controls to show a new image on the main screen.  "There are two more aces up our sleeves that we'll be deploying in this combat.  The first are the Protoculture Warhead missiles developed by Dr. Lang on the SDF-3 Pioneer Flagship.  Available in both Mini and Short range models, they generate a powerful energy signature that is designed to draw the Invid off and distract them.  We have only a handful of these missiles available, at most two or three per squadron.  Use them sparingly, but to good effect.


The second item of new technology that will be deployed are a handful of the new Shadow Fighters.  There are only a few Alphas and Betas that have been built so far, and are being reserved for units in Wave One.  More of these units are underway, but will be some time before they are ready to be deployed.  I hear that even a few of the older Valkyries are going to be upgraded with the Shadow Tech, giving all of our various Veritech pilots an edge in future engagements with the Invid.  At this time, there are no plans to equip the Destroids or Hover Tanks with the Shadow System, and the Cyclones are just too small.  More items are in the pipeline for future deployments.  Pilots, prepare your fighters!"


Jackie is getting his usual EW configured Valkyrie, and you have your choice for the wing mounted missiles of either Mini or Short range; its up to you.  Dana is going into the fight with the Super Valkyrie booster pack and a full load of Short range missiles, giving her the same ammo load as an Alpha.  Serena is assigned her Alpha, and Miu is in the Beta.  Your team also has available a total of three of the Short range Protoculture Lure missiles.  You can split them up between you or have one Veritech have all three, but remember, they do take up a standard missile slot.
 
"I'd say all of you take one of the missiles - I'll stick with my usual loadout." There is enough time left to prepare - then again, it's been a while since the team sat in the cockpits, so it'll take a few moments to adjust all of the settings to their liking. Still, there's always time for another question adressing the commander: "Just for the record, which teams are the ones equipped with the new shadow thing? Don't want their damn technology anywhere around, but I'd rather be prepared for when they somehow show up during the fighting."
 
jackie readies himself with the singular missile as ordered and stocks the rest as mini missiles, enough to get the job done with a bang should it be needed. He wondered about this new planet and people, but put it out of his mind as he readied himself for the lift off, clear any ghosts from the system, appease the spirits of bad luck, hope he'll get outa this without replicating that one episode of futurama. 
 
In response to Miu's question, the CAG shows a list of several squadrons, all of which are in the initial wave of fighters.  You know the pilots of all these teams, and they are all very experienced pilots with stellar reputations.  "As more of the Shadow Fighters are rolled off the assembly lines, we will eventually be replacing most of our front line mecha.  It is just a matter of time.  But for the short term, these four teams will be the first using the new tech."
 
Serena waves a dismissive hand.  "We don't need that Shadow Tech to kill the enemy.  True warriors don't need such crutches, even if the stealth systems would be useful.  I will go ahead and accept one of those new Protoculture Lures.  I can make good use of that, and with my missile load having sixty of the short range missiles, I am willing to spare one for it.  Lets get to this."
 
"Just leave my Beta as it is, they weren't even close to shoot me down without those two-edged toys. And have an eye on the other pilots - they deserve better than being tossed away, after all those foes they shot down." Turning to the squad, the redhead agrees with Serena. "Those lure missiles already proved useful once - nothing against a bit of trickery if it makes for more spectacular explosions." There is not much more to say - thus, Miu follows Jackie's example, prepping the Beta for the upcoming skirmishes. For her, that involves less focus on things far from reality, and instead adapting the settings such that both Serena and herself will be able to handle the masterpiece of human design. No Haydonitean technology needed - these mecha have carried mankind to victory long before their best pilots got abandoned on some random planet for cruel experiments.
 
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Heading down to the hangar bay, Crimson Squad begins their preflight checklists in preparation for the upcoming fight.  Throughout the process, Dana is quiet and focused as she works on her Valkyrie.  If anyone approaches her to talk she immediately perks up and shows a bright face, but other than that, she remains locked in with her thoughts.


As the time continues to count down to launch, the Wave One interceptors are launching out and forming up, leaving you with more space on the flight deck.  Dana keeps everyone linked up with data from the MacArthur's command deck, showing the progress of the battle outside.  Initially, the new Shadow Fighters are proving to be very effective against the Invid, making them a real force multiplier, being useful all across the contested airspace. 


Soon enough, it is time for the Wave Two Veritechs to launch.  You exit the Mac in the upper atmosphere, and even from your position, the massive structure of the floating city is clearly visible.  Scores of fighters are racing forward, escorting a handful of Horizon-T Transports with the Cyclones tucked away inside their cargo pods.  A small group of Shock Troopers and Armored Scouts do rise up from the city to slow the advance, but it is a drop in the bucket against so many fighters coming down.  AWACs aircraft begin to assign strike zones, steering the UEEF forces to their best position to engage the enemy.  For Crimson Squad, you already have your patrol zone; the central Temple and Birthing Center for the Paraxians.
 
Jackie kept to the center of the group, keeping his radar up and running to detect any possible invid, and possibly on occasion try and watch for any of those cloaked ships, he would make certain they weren't being watched this time. But more so upon the way, he kept an eye on Dana, not with any suspicion, more for the sake of worry.


"Hey Dana, hows it feel to be back in the pilot seat eh? I'd bet yer valkyrie was just dieing to have yea back." he chuckled abit to himself, patting his Dovey's console abit before gazing once more at the large temple before them. Would Dana really be okay? it's not a question that she was a good pilot, but with those thing in her head... Does she FEEL good enough to be out here? Would the invid fuck with her head? She did sense that the slugs were communicating back to the brain... And she mentioned it trying to take control of her. perhaps they were trying to make her into a human drone? 


A frightening thought... It'd be even more frightening for her. the torture she went through... Girl needs a spa treatment more then being sent out into battle like this. 


"just to note, i might stay in Dovey when it comes to any P.R we gotta do with the natives... Not sure how any "cultural exchanges" might go."
 
Thus far, the new technology seemed to work out - the reports showed their efficiency. Was she wrong in her attitude towards the command's decisions? A single look over to Dana's valkyrie annihilated Miu that thought within split-seconds. Jackie tried his best to break the silence, but it certainly was not the same - how should it have been? "Fine by me - I'm not here for diplomacy either. Don't think I'd represent the command's ideas very well."


Part of her just wants to reach the city already, and blast away at the Invids until the munition is depleted, and the weapons overheat. Feel the battle around her, just like before the whole mess. Act as if it never happened, in hopes that Dana will be able to do the same. Goddamn, why her and not me? The answer is quite simple. She's been in front, instead of me taking the lead. Unwittingly, she speeds up the aircraft shared with Serena, making sure they are in front whenever they get close to the enemy.
 
Dana calls out, I'm getting flash traffic from Command and Control. Patching it through now."


"Viper Squad, twelve Shock Troopers are in your target zone, heading for the Temple. Intercept and destroy, weapons hot.  Vermilion Squad, six Garn Inorganics are airborne with ten Armored Scouts, moving to cut you off. Intercept vector being transmitted. Crimson Squad, a mixed force of four Odeons, two Scrim, and six Shock Troopers are moving to the Temple, along the main street approach. Hit them hard; they will be in range to engage the Temple soon."


A second signal comes over the radio. "All units, all units, be aware that the Paraxians are starting to take to the streets to engage the Invid themselves. Watch your targets and remember that to the Paraxians, we are a bunch of wild cards and they don't know just how much they can trust us."


Dana confirms the dual orders. "Copy that, Command. Moving to engage now." Switching to the team channel, she says, "Targets are marked in your HUDs, let's blast the fuck out of those Invid!"


@Psychie is up first 


Combat order:


Serena <====


Shock Troopers 1-3


Scrim 1


Jackie


Odeon 1


Odeon 2


Miu


Shock Troopers 4-6


Dana


Odeon 3


Odeon 4
 
 Four Odeons. That will take a bit of firepower up knock out. That makes it a good challenge!   Shifting to guardian mode, Serena targets tree first of the Odeons and opens up with a salvo of eight HEAP missiles. "Target locked; firing! Missiles away!"

MDC at full


1 Protoculture Lure,  31 HEAP warheads, 20 Plasma
 
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