Army of the Southern Cross

[Orikanyo]

Heinrich sighed slightly, but kept up his guard, he kept his sensory equipment on the work. "Good work Moira, guess you can't beat a fellow Zentraedi to convince them to step down huh? ...Though try and go easy on us guys alright there cheesecake?" he chuckled, keep his eyes on their new captives. With the others greeting Sgt. Welker, Heinrich took another approach.

"Command this is Staff Sergeant Schneider we have the take under arms I repeat we have the High Lord and her entourage under arms and they have surrendered. Sgt. Welker is close by and we are ready for evac. Over." he kept an eye on that sensor, because he will be damned if they lost this prize here and now. "We should check them so we know their unarmed, Fia, Marcus, check them over and keep your eyes on them."

 

[ViciousVip3R]

"Alright, wouldn't be surprised if this was a trap. The Zentraedi are known for their cunning and ruthless nature, and this is the queen bee we are talking about, along with her best and brightest...You can bet I'm not taking my eyes off them"

 

[Sherwood]

So far, everyone but Heinrich notices a sudden spike in the power output of the power reactor. It is quickly clear that it is a build-up for an explosion! The engines are no longer functional, but the power systems are working enough to make one hell of a crater when the ship goes up. You are faced with just a few minutes before the reflex furnace hits critical mass and explodes.

 

[Psychie]

Moira swears. "Shit! The engines are rigged to blow! We have to get the hell out of here!" She hits her radio. "All units, all units! The engines are powering up to explode! Evacuate to a safe distance! Everyone move!"

 

[Orikanyo]

"..Eh? Ah.. Yes! I read that as well." heinrich lied, totally having noticed the rather large warning on his screen that he... well... Was distracted from. "Command the ship has been rigged to blow I repeat it has been rigged to blow get everyone out of the area now!" he repeated Moira's signals to command, so they can pull a full evac. "Move! Everyone! bring the prisoners." he connected to Sgt.Welker's squad.

He looked towards their captives and smirked. "You lot were running this way... and I'm not so certain it's to run into a dead end and die in the blast... You have an escape route here. Don't you?" he questioned, his digged up tank still a definite threat.. But if they could get out easily...

"Must say though, pretty cheeky... Blowing this place up as you try and make your getaway. A level of deviousness even I could admire. Were you only a faster runner."

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"I almost didn't believe you War Girl when you said that the High Lord was a cheeky foe. A last ditch effort to bugger us all over. Sneaky and deadly. A shame the ship's gonna blow..." Adrian said, not even bothering repeating the orders of evacuation through comms. Instead he focused on the captive High Lord and her retinue before them.

"I got to hand it to you, High Lord," Adrian said through external comms before checking his scanners once again for any other surprises, "that was really sneaky of you. I have to agree with the Doc, you and your retinue are running down here at a seemingly dead end area of the ship. So, where's your exit? I know for a bloody fact you don't want to die here..." He then leveled his Gun Pod at them, with his finger ready to pull the trigger.

 

[Psychie]

"They have to have a bolt-hole down here somewhere." Moira shifts her aim to point at the leg of one of the other officers. "We only need the High Lord. The rest of you are expendable. Give me an excuse to cripple you fuckers. I'm not human, so you can take that into consideration to know that I'm not bluffing."

 

[Sherwood]

You can tell that not all of the five are as willing to die for their cause as the High Lord is. The weak link is quite nervous, and is very jittery at the thought of ending up blown to bits when the ship goes critical. Under the watchful eye of the squad, she finally breaks. "There is an escape tunnel up ahead, complete with a handful of Glaug pods to help facilitate our escape. It's down at airlock 26."

Serena glares at her fellow Zentraedi. "Pathetic coward! It is better to die on our feet than to live on our knees. Your shame will be eternal, and you will go down in history as a traitor to our cause!"

Moira knows that the airlock indicated is closer to you than the one you came in, but it is up to you if you wish to try and get out the main entrance or go to the escape tunnel.

 

[Psychie]

Moira shares what she knows. "If we are going to be bringing prisoners with us, it will slow us down. We might want to try this tunnel out, and hope that it will get us far enough away from the blast that we can survive. Otherwise, we should eliminate these and make a straight out run for it. Either way, I'll follow your call, Sarge."

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"Well that wasn't so hard now. Also it is better to live another day than die a pointless death." Adrian said before turning to his squad.

"Alright, your call Doc. As long as we get out of here alive."

 

[Silanon]

"If you ask me, High Lord - you're about to trade the lives of this handful of hover tank pilots for your entire counsil. Even I can see that that's stupidity; and everyone in the future will confirm that as well. Believe me, I know the way how stories are told - you, what's your name? They'll remember you as the one who saved the High Lord's life." Switching to the squad comms, she then adds: "Either way works, sarge - if we take the same way back we came, we at least know what lies ahead of us. All a matter of how much time we've got - and if you think she's correct. Easy to mix up the numbers, isn't it?"

 

[Orikanyo]

"It's the fastest way out on foot. We have to put some trust in her words, even if it may be suspect I don't want to risk any lives during this escape. We head down to the airlock. Keep your eyes on them, and when we're at the airlock keep them close, we don't want them running to those pods..." he noted as he moved for the group to March on, keeping that broken officer in mind.

One always breaks.

"We move, keep up and there won't be trouble. Let's go!"

 

[Sherwood]

It is slower moving, driving the six prisoners along with you towards the indicated airlock, but you are making progress. Over your radios, you can hear the sounds of the general retreat being signaled, ordering all the allied units in the area to back away from the ship to get out of the blast radius.

You get to the airlock that the one officer told you about, and you find it open to a large room with several different kinds of mecha inside; Officers Pods, Battle Pods, and even a few Male and Female Powered Armor units. Several storage stalls are empty, giving you the indication that they have been claimed by other Zentraedi coming out this way.

The outer airlock doors open up to reveal a dirt tunnel that stretches out into the darkness. It is wide enough to fit several mecha side by side, making it easy for you to wrangle the prisoners up in a group along the path to safety. Stretching out for about a mile you finally start to see some light coming from up ahead. As you break through into the open once more, you can see that there was an extensive camouflage effort made to cover up this opening that has been torn asunder by the soldiers fleeing the deathtrap of the ship.

Now that you are out in the open, you can see on your radar where you are in relation to the ship and other allied forces in the area. At the moment, you are behind the lines of troops and mecha that have begun to pull back from the ship, showing you that if you had taken any longer in your efforts to remove the escorts from the High Lord, she would be long gone with her command staff.

 

[Orikanyo]

"Command, sending our coorodinates now, we have made our way out of a hidden escape that the High lord was going to be using. We have the highlord and her officers still, we will be making our way to the main host now." he relayed the coordinates of the escape tunnel and themselves before motioning towards hi squad. "Alright, we're nearly out of here, keep your eyes on the prize and our backs, we don't need anymore trouble sneaking up on us in the final stretch."

 

[Psychie]

Moira takes point as the squad is moving away from the ship. "The blast is going to be spectacular; Fia, you might want to have your cameras running. Lets get some distance to keep out of the mess."

 

[Sherwood]

The explosion is indeed quite impressive. Debris are flung up into the air thousands of feet before raining down on the jungle around it. Anyone or anything still inside the ship would certainly be dead.

A group of six RDF Spartans and eight allied Zentraedi soldiers rendezvous with you, and they produce several sets of Zentraedi-sized manacles to restrain the six officers. The Lieutenant in charge of the security forces there approach you. "Damn fine work in there, Hussars! You have just helped to put a nail in the coffin of the Malcontent forces in this sector! A major blow has been struck, bringing in Serena alive." The officer turns to face the High Lord. In a calm voice, he says, "Don't worry, Serena. You'll be treated well as we bring you to trial for the crimes you have committed. Khyron managed to escape justice; but you will not. Expect to be spending a very long time incarcerated in a UEEF prison."

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"That," Adrian pointed at the large blast in the distance before continuing, "was brilliant. One for the history books!" Adrian said as he continued to look through the scanners, a precaution really.

When allied forces came in to view, Adrian lets out a sigh of relief after hearing the good news from the Lieutenant. "Hell, it's about time. A victory worth remembering."

 

[Silanon]

"I'll certainly make sure the news get out there - though the pictures might be a bit blurred, quite the blast. Expected a few more problems on the way out, honestly." She then turns around towards the new arrivals: "Any news of sergeant Kim? We picked up one of his squad members along the way, hope the sarge is in good health as well. Damn fine work down there, Marcus, by the way - glad we had that extra gun to help us out."

 

[Psychie]

Moira is happy to turn Serena over to the MPs. As the humans would say, not my circus, not my monkeys. Let someone else deal with having to guard her. With a wave her mecha's hand, she gives the security forces a friendly wave as they lead the prisoners away. "Take it easy with that one, boys. She is a snake, and will not hesitate to bite if you let your guard down with her. Also, this one," she points to the officer that told them about the hidden tunnel, "should be kept separate from the others. She told us about the exit, and has pissed off the others because of it. We wouldn't want any accidents to happen to her on the way to the micronizing chamber!"

 

[Orikanyo]

Heinrich let out a sigh of relief...

Yep...

They did it.

"...You know, I think we're starting to set the bar a little high for our future endeavors." the good doctor chuckled, but felt a tad bit worried. "Will the rest of the forces truly give in? Even if Serena is captured and trialed... Hmm... I suppous theres no helping right now." he took a moment to gaze at the smoke currently rising up into the sky. "The winged hussars, I wonder if they will make action figures out of us? Maybe a T.V series? ... it occurs to me I don't have many words of praise to give out to other squads... Looks like we'll have to soak up the limelight." he scratched the small bit of beard forming on his chin as he began thinking about the recognition for this mission.

"...Ah shit, I'm going to have to write a report about this."

 

[Sherwood]

There is a sizable amount of clean-up to be done, and no lack of work for a mecha team to do. There is a chance that there might still be some survivors in the ship to dig out, and there are stragglers of the Zentraedi forces in the area making suicide attacks on the allied forces in the area. There are many wounded to be treated, and a large number of prisoners to deal with, all of which need to be guarded for the safety of everyone involved.

When the question of Marcus' old squad comes up, it takes some time to get any word on their status. Of the four man team, the squad leader is KIA, one is wounded and will probably be getting a medical discharge, one is slightly injured, and then there is Marcus. With the team being so tore up, it is quickly decided to dissolve the current squad and reassign the ambulatory members to different units. Marcus is (un)lucky enough to draw the Winged Hussars as his new home, and Sgt. Heinrich has been told that the paperwork to make it official will be forthcoming by the end of the day. Marcus is informed that his personal gear will be packed for you in your old BSURP (Border SURveylance Post) and sent to your new home at Anton-17 with the rest of the Hussars within the next few hours.

Sgt. Heinrich is summoned to find your CO. Major Maxwell is currently in a hastily constructed triage tent checking in on the various wounded of the fight as they are prepped for air transport to nearby MASH units. He greets you with a businesslike nod. "I hear good things about you and yours, Sergeant. I like that. Makes me a happy man to hear good things about my people. If I'm not mistaken, you have not had any extended leave time off post. Why don't you tell your team that you have put in for a weeks work of R and R for them? Maybe they can take a vacation to New Rio and celebrate your combat pay and bonuses away. Get in touch with Capt. Cruz, and she can help you with the details. You done good, and I want to make sure you are taken care of."

Elsewhere, Eric is looking over the team's mecha and is shaking his head. "Hey Cheesecake, you keep me busy with all the work I have to put into fixing up your rig. Do you think that you can try to get out of the way of the bullets a little more often? I wouldn't mind, and neither would any of the other techs around here." He gives Moira a smile and a playful slap on the shoulder. "No worries. I'm just glad that we all came through that without getting anyone hurt. Better your mecha than you, right?"

 

[Psychie]

Moira laughs. "You should have seen me in my old Glaug. I was just as hard on them as I am on my Hover Tank. Just the way I operate, I guess. But, to keep you happy, I will try to do better to make the bullets go by without letting them hit me. Think of it as job security. As long as I'm around, you'll be employed to help keep my mecha in working order!"

Now that the firefight has come to an end, she decides to go see the new guy. Walking up to Marcus, she offers him her hand. "Welcome to the Hussars. We are an odd assortment of people, but somehow we make it work. I'm Moira, and yes, I am one of the Zentraedi that have volunteered to join the ASC. Hopefully that won't be a problem for you to work with me. I know that many people on Earth have lost someone near and dear to them in the Robotech War, but at least that won't happen again so long as I'm on the job of keeping my new home safe."
ViciousVip3R

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"I am grateful for the fighting to be over. As much as I want to fight some more to earn my paycheck, good Gods we all need a bloody break." Adrian sighed as he stretched to work out the kinks in his body. "Hey, Eric, can you and the boys and girls attach that particle cannon to my tank? As much as I love the classic shells, I think a change is needed right now..."

After relaying his request, he turned to Marcus and finally greeted him properly without the chaos of battle around them. "You did good Marcus! Bloody good show in there. Adrian Hawthorne speaking; and I got to say, I'm glad you joined up with us. You're gonna fit right in with us all. Now, it's safe to say that we can get the hell out of here and enjoy the bounty of some booze and good food?"

 

[ViciousVip3R]

"Thanks for the warm welcome guys!" says Marcus with a bittersweet smile, "Glad to be here" Shaking everyone's hands in turn, he faces Moira and assures her that there is no problem. "We are all fighting for the same cause, and in my books that makes you good." Taking a shaky breath to steady himself, Marcus continues, "I wish I could join you guys in the celebrations, but the shock is still wearing off. I also want to talk to the sarge's family and see Dougie and Stan off before they are sent to their new assignments. We have gotten pretty close over the last while, and they are good guys too."

As Marcus walks away, he turns back for one last remark, "Don't worry about me guys! Go and have fun. I promise I will be fit for duty come tomorrow."

 

[Orikanyo]

"Yes sir." New Rio sounded nice. "I shall bring it up with my squad, no doubt they will agree that they need some time to rest. I shall admit it was our resident Zentraedi who lead us to victory, Sgt. Moira proves exceedingly useful with her knowledge of the Zentraedi war ship and was the sole reason we weren't running blind throughout the place. Everyone pulled their weight in battle, and I cannot be anymore proud of my squad and their resourcefulness.

Is there anything else major?" he asked, knowing the very moment he was done here he would go to the Captain to make the plans for their trip. that, and finally take a moment to fall into a bed and sleep for a full ten hours.