----------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode 6: Rendez Vous

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the previous episode of Robotech II: Sentinels, Guardians of Earth.
The SDF-3 has left the Robotech Factory and is preparing to fold to
Mars, together with the core of the REF-fleet. Once they reach Mars,
the fleet will be joined by the Mars Division. From there, the REF
will fold to Tirol and an uncertain future.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The SDF-3, along with all the vessels departing from moon base Luna,
had left Earth behind them and were about to take on the voyage to
Mars. Final construction would be done in orbit around Mars. The
dockyards there would take care of these last additions to the fleet.
The fleet, consisting of over 500 vessels of different sizes and
shapes, was waiting for the green light. The voyage would last a few
moments. "All ships, stand by for fold." Sussanna notified the fleet
of the upcoming jump to Mars. It was vital that all vessels had the
correct coordinates. Julie went over the coordinates for the groups of
vessels. "Coordinates verified. You have green light for fold. Group
delta-7, please stand by for receipt of fold coordinates." Her hands
ran over the keyboard. The monitor flashed and numbers appeared on it.
"Delta 7, coordinates are now being transmitted. Acknowledge receipt."
She notified the group. "This is delta-7 coordinates received. We are
now transmitting the received coordinates for verification." Julie
checked the coordinates again and sent a message to delta-7, verifying
the coordinates.

"Delta-2, now beginning fold-jump." Outside, space lit up as the group
of ships entered fold. Rick stood in front of the bridge, watching the
proceedings through the window. "Has delta-1 reached Mars yet?" Mary
Wood addressed Francis. Francis punched up a new window on her
computerscreen. "Not yet. It'll take about 2 minutes more." Rick
turned and went over to Francis' post. "How long are they underway
now?" he said, looking at the progress screen. "At present, delta-1
has been in fold for 3 minutes, so the complete jump takes about 5
minutes." she answered. "Well, that makes a good interval between the
arriving groups." There had been some doubts about how the new
fold-systems would function, but so far, it all appeared to run as
planned. The groups folded with intervalls of 10 minutes, went into
fold for 5 minutes, and then had 5 minutes to take their positions
around Mars when they defolded. Dr. Lang had calculated the
time-schedule to near-perfection. "I've got to say you have done a
good job, Lang." Rick commented the chief-engineer of the SDF-3. "Ah,
my thanks, general." Lang said. "If you will excuse me, I'm going to
the engine-compartment. I see you can handle it without me here." He
saluted, and left. Rick got over to his seat. The next group of ships
went into fold.

"This is Mars base Sara. Defold activity monitored. Delta-1 group has
entered the area and is ready to take positions." A smooth execution
of this phase in the mission was imperative. Should anything go wrong,
the results would be catastrophic. In space around Mars, some 50 ships
had emerged from hyper-space, and were now taking positions and
clearing the area for Delta-2, scheduled to arrive in 5 minutes. The
last of the groups, delta-11, would not arrive until 2 hours later.
The leadship of delta-1 was the Ark Royal. Named after the valiant
British warship, the Ark Royal was a powerfull looking vessel. It was
commanded by colonel Carpenter. "Have all ships reached their
designated positions?" A voice responded:"Yes sir, all ships are
present and accounted for. All positions are taken." Carpenter
signalled his communications officer. "Tell all vessels to remain at
these coordinates."

After delta-11 had entered fold, the SDF-3 was going to follow the
fleet. "The reflex furnace is up to power, Sir. We can fold any time."
Sussanna told Rick. "Right." Rick got up from his seat. "Execute fold
jump!" The SDF-3 lit up, then accelerated to far beyond light-speed.
The Robotech Factory was now a lone orbiting satelite. Nothing
reminded of the great fleet that was there 2 hours ago.

Far away, hundreds of parsecs from Earth, another fold operation had
ended due to exhausted Protoculture supplies. "Masters, we have used
the last of our reserve of Protoculture. Yet, there is no sign of
Zor's vessel." Three aged men contemplated what to do next. Now,
without the use of folding, the long trek to the location of Zor's
battlefortress, was even more acute than it had been when they left
Tirol. "We will continue our voyage." one of them said. "But, Masters,
we have no Protoculture left in our fold-engines." The Masters quickly
dismissed any opposition. "We will continue our search. We MUST find
the matrix, or all is lost." The hovering platform of the Masters
rose, they gave the order to engage the sub-light engines. It would
last several years before they would enter the system in which Zor's
fallen fortress rested.

Space around Mars looked as if it was the centre of the universe. For
the last 2 hours, groups of space ships had defolded there and were
presently in orbit around the red planet. On the surface of Mars, at
Base Sara, the monitor station reported the arrival of the last
vessel. High above Mars, space exploded and lit up, brighter than the
sun. From this blast a gigantic vessel emerged. The energy formed and
became the flagship of the Robotech Expeditionary Force. The SDF-3 had
arrived.

"Fold completed, Sir." Mary informed Rick about their present status.
"Well done." He commended his crew. The following week, the REF would
remain in orbit around Mars, to undergo final construction and last
tests. From an observation room, Lisa gazed at the red planet. She
remembered the day the SDF-1 was nearly destroyed by Khyron's forces.
The day she was rescued by Rick. The day, she really lost Carl Riber
forever. "Hi, daydreamer." "Wha..?" Lisa popped out. "Honey, you were
looking as if you were lightyears away with your thoughts." Jean Grant
sat down next to Lisa. "Hmm, I was, sort of." she turned and looked at
Jean. Jean Grant, married to Claudia Grant's brother, had become a
very good friend of Lisa and Rick. "You had quite an adventure there,
it's normal to think about such events when confronted again." Jean
said. "Oh, it's not that, or not JUST that." "Oh, Lisa, you've got to
stop this worrying.", Jean slapped Lisa on her shoulder, "You're a
married woman. No one can take Rick away from you now. And he loves
you." A smile formed on Lisa's face. "I owe my life to him. He saved
me here." She walked over to the window. A deep breath of air escaped
from her lips. "See, you two were meant for each other." Jean also
left the bench. Both women watched the planet pass outside the ship.

The normal every-day hum-drum was kicking in at Pioneer City. All of
it's over 75,000 inhabitants were "just in", and this lead to many
people wandering the city, to find the bakery, grocery or whatever. "I
don't understand this.", Karen sighed, turning her map around and
around. "This is Mainstreet, so that has to be 2nd avenue." she looked
at the street's nameplate. Parkview, it read. "Oh, this is bugging
me!" she thought. "So where on this map is Parkview?", she ran her
finger over the piece of paper. "This map is worthless." she let it
out, and her eyes flashed from left to right to see if someone was
looking at her. She put her hand for her mouth, and let out a laugh. A
car screeched to a halt. Karen turned towards where the sound was
coming from. "Hi neighbour!" Jack Baker hopped from the little jeep.
"You know, I could regard this as stalking." Karen joked. "Now, why do
I get this feeling you're not serious?" Jack winked an eye at Karen.
"Oh, please." she folded the map together. "Can't find your way, huh?"
Jack patted on the passenger's seat. "I've scouted around, so just
tell me where you wanna be, and I get you there in no time." "You
really are tenacious, aren't you?" Karen took the seat. "When she's
worth it." and he drove away.

"So, what's the destination?" he asked. "The grocery, I was going to
get some fresh fruit." Karen replied. "There's a grocery here?" Jack
gave a puzzled look. "You said... Oh, don't you ever take me serious?"
Karen put a hand on her face in disbelief. Jack laughed, then gave
Karen a look,:"I was joking." They took a turn. "Here we are." "Huh?"
Karen saw the Pioneer City grocery. She was getting out of the car, as
Jack took her hand. "How about dinner this evening?"Now that was very
direct. Karen looked at him, amazed and uncertain. "Tonight...?" she
stammered. Karen had always been the tough pilot, disciplined,
following orders. Her social life had consisted of talking to fellow
pilots on air-bases, going out with them. But love hadn't been a part
of her life so far. She hadn't reserved any time for such a thing. But
this young man, this "Hot Shot" as her father had called him, might be
worth to find a spot in her tight schedule. "Uhm, that would be uh,
nice." "Than it's a date." Jack threw her a kiss. Her knees where
almost ready to collapse. In a fighter, nothing could get her of
ballance, but now, her heart raced in her chest. "See you at 8 O'clock
tonight." And he drove off. "Uh,...Oh."

Karen's anxiety had little meaning for Cabell and Rem. They had
escaped the Invid by retreating to the tunnels under the capitol of
Tirol. "Now what, Cabell? What are we going to do now. The Invid are
here, and it is clear they are not going to leave soon. There's no way
we can reach the Masters." a desperate Rem paced up and down. "They
haven't found the tunnels, so for the moment we are safe. It must be
clear for them now, that the Masters are gone." Cabell said. "They
will turn Tirol upside down to find the Flower of Life. No place will
be left untouched." Rem took a good look at the container he carried.
In it, 3 Flower's of Life were growing. Somehow he knew this flower to
be the source of great power, a supply of energy that could not be
exhausted. But he had never studied it. Yet, strands of memories
haunted him, visions of events appeared in his mind. Events, that were
familiar, but he had not lived through. Or had he?

All over Tirol, Invid patrolls scoured the surface for any sign of
Protoculture activity. If they spotted such a thing, they swooped down
to investigate. Aboard his flagship, the Regent was getting more and
more confused. None of the patrolls had found any sign of the Flower
of Life. "It's impossible!" he shouted. "The Flower must be here. Zor
would not have kept it from the Masters." the Regent pondered.
"Perhaps, but the Masters themselves have left the planet." Tessla
responded. "It might very well be that they took the Flower with
them." "Are you suggesting I am wrong?" the Regent turned to his
scientist. Any criticism to the Regent was enough to end up exiled, or
dead. "No, your Excellency, but the possibility exists." Tessla
defended himself. An Invid entered and saluted the Regent. "My lord. I
bring you a report from the homeworld. The Regis has activated the
Sensor Nebula." "WHAT?" the Regent exclaimed. "She did that? That
idiot of a woman. But her efforts will be in vain." He dismissed the
messenger. "All the better. Now, she will be occupied with observing
the Sensor. She won't get in our way." he thought.

In Pioneer City, the EVE-system let the night fall over the buildings
and houses. Returning to her home, Mary Wood walked through the
streets. Her shift had ended, and she was looking forward to a warm
shower. "You've spent another night alone at your quarters." Julie's
remark echoed in Mary's mind. She closed her eyes. It was clear for
her, David was a lost cause for her. "Why?", she thought. "We were so
happy together." A tear grew in her eye, she blinked, and the tear
rolled over her cheeck to her chin. Mary was a beautifull girl. Last
month, she had had her 21st birthday. Her long, blonde hair, was tied
to a braid. She wore a long grey coat over her uniform. She sniffed
and cleaned her eye. The sound of her boots stopped, as she saw David
and Julie enter a restaurant. "Oh...", her mouth opened, a hurting
feeling went through her. "Hmmm..." she shook her head, "It's over."

"Hey, Mary!" A voice called her from the other side of the street.
"Wait a minute." Patricia and Francis crossed the street and went to
Mary. "Oh, you saw Julie, didn't you?" Patricia said, as she saw the
red eyes of Mary. "Uhhuh." Mary muttered. "Well, let's just forget
about them and let's hit the city." Francis suggested. "Oh, you 2 go
ahead. I'm going home." Mary said, already moving on. Quickly, Francis
blocked her path. "Oh no, you're coming with us, Mary. You need to get
out more often. I know, we'll go to the 3 Stars, Yeah!" "Great, you'll
like it Mary." Patricia supported Francis. "Oh, but I'm not dressed to
go out." Mary tried. "So, neither are we. Besides, the guys just love
to see a uniform." Patricia joked. "I guess I have no other choice, do
I." Mary loosened up a bit. "You know, we'll get you a date before you
know it." Francis promised. Mary eyes went wide. "Oh no, don't do
that. Please." The 3 went on to the 3 Stars, one of many bars in
Pioneer City. And the nearest to the base.

"Isn't this great, or what?" Patricia said to Mary. She only
shrugged. "I suppose it is." Before she knew it, Patricia and Francis
pushed her inside. She nearly tripped, and a young man caught her.
"You'd better watch your step, lady." he said. Mary looked at the boy.
"Thank you." she whispered. From behind Francis and Patricia looked
on. "I bet she just walks on." Patricia said with conviction. "Oh, she
isn't that stiff." Francis responded. The young man introduced
himself. "I'm lieutenant Fields, but you can call me Mike." "Mary
Wood." she said shyly. "I know, you're the first officer." Mike said.
"Come on, Mary, drop that shield." Francis whispered. Patricia pushed
Francis. "Uhm, I'm here with some friends, so if you'll excuse me..."
Francis threw her hands up. "I can't beleive she said that." Mike
smiled, and greeted Mary. She had a sheepish look on her face, when
she saw the 2 looking at her. "What was that?" Francis asked, almost
sounding like a member of the MP. "You don't get it, do you?" Mary
shrugged again. "You know what your problem is? Your living in the
past. I ought to..." Patricia stopped Francis. "Give her a break, will
you. She only broke up 2 weeks ago. Can you blame her she is still
thinking about him?" Mary was the youngest of the bridge-crew. Francis
was 22 and Patricia 24. Sussanna was 31, and regarded as sort of like
the "mother" of the bridge, though she never liked to be called as
such. "I'm not your mother!" she would say. And Julie, Julie was 22, a
few months younger than Francis. "Come on, we'll take a seat, and
let's just chat and have a good time." Patricia proposed. The 3 sat
around a table and ordered drinks.

And so 3 lonely women sat, telling each other what they thought about
the mission in front of them. Francis LaRue, a french girl, with short
dark brown hair and equally dark eyes, had a spirit most French girls
have. A romantic girl, she seemed to go after every guy she met.
Patricia Anderson was a bit more down to Earth. She had long black
hair and wore glasses. Her love-life so far had consisted of a short
term relation on high-school. And Mary, she had had a relation with
David Marks for about a year. But he had left her for Julie. Julie,
who seemed to be able to get any man she wanted. Sussanna was married
to commander Robert Hill. She knew life better than any of her
colleagues on the bridge. But Mary was a special bridge member. She
had a family member that was a high ranking officer, her aunt admiral
Lisa Hayes. It was because of her that Mary had entered the service.
She admired Lisa. Wanted to be just as good as her. When she graduated
from the Academy, Lisa had personally selected her as first officer on
he SDF-3. Not because they were related, but because of Mary's record.

"Let me tell you, I never thought hyperspace travel was so, well,
normal." Patricia said. "You bet, I always imagined it to be something
very special." Francis continued the talk. "Folding isn't that special
to anybody inside the vessel." Mary explained. "Just that time passes
much slower then it does outside the ship." "Wow, you mean we really
traveled longer then a few seconds?" Patricia remarked. "Yes, and when
we will fold to Tirol, that will only take a few days for us, but
lasts several months in normal space." Mary continued. "So we won't
grow older!" Francis cheered. "Well, look who we have here. Couldn't
stand your home any more?" the sharp remark struck Mary. Julie was
looking at her, and Mary looked back. All of a sudden, the bright mood
had been overshadowed by the dark cloud of rivalry between the 2. "Oh,
you leave her alone." Patricia called. "Must you keep picking on her?"
"Not neccesarily," Julie sneered at Mary, "but I like it." Mary got
up, her body shaking. Behind Julie, David appeared. She saw him, and
that was too much for Mary. She took her coat, and ran away, hurt and
not wanting anyone to see her tears. "You bitch!" Patricia yelled at
Julie, and ran of after Mary. Francis turned to David:"In France, men
treat women with respect, and don't run off with the first nice
looking face. Though with you," she turned and faced Julie, "that's
not even the case." and followed Patricia's tracks. "Hah, the nerve."
Julie shouted.

"Mary, wait!" Patricia called to her friend. Mary stopped running, and
covered her eyes. "Come here, poor girl." Patricia took her friend in
her arms and tried to comfort her. Mary wept. "Oh, let her have him,
you don't deserve a guy like him." Patricia put a hand under Mary's
chin. "Look at me. You are not going to let Julie get the better of
you, you hear me?" Francis reached them :"Oh, that girl, I can
strangle her without blinking my eyes." Mary wiped her face clean. "I
like to go home now." she said with a shaky voice. "That's all right."
"We'll take you there." Both Francis and Patricia felt sorry for Mary.
They walked her to her home, and then went to their own.

7 O'clock and the alarm-clock rang. Mary opened her eyes. Her shift
started in an hour. She got to the bridge at 10 to 8. When she entered
the bridge, she found admiral Hayes on the bridge. She was talking to
Patricia, who was the only other bridge-member present. "I understand
that," she said, "But at the moment we don't have a replacement
available." Mary went to her position, and saluted to Lisa. Lisa
acknowledged the salute. "Come over here a moment, Mary." When Lisa
called Mary by her name, she knew it wasn't going to be talk about
military procedures. "Lieutenant Anderson has told me what happened
last night. You understand that such a situation isn't positive for
the climate on the bridge." Lisa said. "But, aunt Lisa, it wasn't me!"
Mary defended herself. "I know, I've been told. But the fact that both
you and sergeant Michaels are stationed here, makes things very
difficult." Lisa's eyes went over Mary's face. "I'll see to it that
Julie will behave herself in the future." "Please, don't punish her."
Mary said. "It'll only make matters worse." "But then what can I do? I
can't replace her." Mary straightened herself:"I'll take care of
myself, admiral. And thank you for your concern." She went back to her
position. "Just don't make a mistake, Mary." Lisa thought.

General Rick Hunter, together with Commander Max Sterling was on his
way to a demonstration of the new Alpha fighter. An improved design of
the Veritech, the Alpha used Protoculture as it's main power source.
The SDF-3 didn't have an aircraft-carrier connected to it like the
SDF-1, but instead had fighterbays in 2 "arms" alongside the hull.
>From here, sorties of tests with the Aphas had been conducted. Today's
demonstration would show the potential of the Alpha. A stage had been
set, in which the Alpha would be required to take out several targets,
both stationary and moving ones. Karen Penn would be piloting the
Alpha. "Max, have you figured out yet what happened during that
link-up?" Rick asked. "No, the 2 craft are still being checked, but I
can tell you this, it wasn't a normal defect." This surprised Rick.
"What do you mean?" Max looked at Rick:"I mean what I said. It wasn't
an accident, I don't beleive that anyway. Karen is too good a pilot to
make a mistake like that." "What, are you saying someone sabotaged her
plane?" Rick worried. "Not her plane, mine. The Beta fouled the
link-up." Max's eyes went to slits. "I don't have any hard evidence,
but someone tempered with the link-up controls." "Great," Rick
thought, "more things to worry about. A saboteur." "Who would want you
to have an accident?" he asked Max. "Oh, I can think of someone." Max
carefully chose his words. "Edwards." flashed through Ricks mind.

Rick didn't understand what it was that made Edwards dislike him so.
But if Max was right, it could very well result in an incident in
which somebody might get killed. "Max, I want to know what happened.
I'm putting you in charge." Max nodded, then reverted their attention
to why they were in the fighter-bay. "Karen, are you ready?" From a
communication channel, Karen's voice sounded:"Yes, Commander, I'm
going to make my run now." She pushed the throttle forward, and the
Alpha sped forward. From her cockpit, Karen quickly surveyed the
staging area, and she plotted a course. The Alpha responded fluently.
The first targets consisted of fixed laser-cannons. She dealt with
these without any problems. Next up were drone Zentraedi BattlePods.
They came at her from different sides and angles. Karen switched to
Battloid configuration. The Alpha changed it's form, and engaged the
Pods. The first one was struck in the engine, the second got hit in
the cockpit. The third was blasted to pieces. "Well done, Karen. That
was a perfect display." Max commented her. "This is Major General
Hunter, very good flying." The Battloid saluted, then changed back to
fighter-mode, and headed for the fighter-bay. "See what I mean, Rick?"
Max said, while they were walking to the hangar. "I do, so you find
out what went wrong with the link-up. If you find anything that
indicates sabotage, let me know."

"SDF-3, this is Mars base Sara, Mars division is standing by for
departure, over." Patricia relayed the message to Sussanna. "Admiral,
Mars division is ready to join us. Just give the order." "Are all
other ships at their designated positions?" "Yes, Admiral, the sector
is clear." Julie Michaels replied. "Tell Mars division they are
welcome to join us." A few moments later, hundreds of silos opened and
battleships emerged from them. The bulk of the fleet was only now
added to the REF. Thousands of vessels were leaving the planet.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Next on Robotech II: Sentinels, Guardians of Earth: The members of the
Robotech Expeditionary Force prepare for the final fold-jump to Tirol.
The people of Tirol are only now recovering from the Invid attack, and
small groups of resistance-fighters are emerging from the ruins. But
will they stand a chance against the Invid, or be obliterated in their
attempts to stop the evil hordes of biomechanical beings? Don't miss
"Into the Unknown", the next exiting chapter in the continuing saga of
Robotech II: Sentinels, Guardians of Earth.