Chapter 22: The Journey
We followed our escort into the encampment. The encampment looked very similar to those refugee camps you use to see on those commercials; you know the ones where the person would tell you how for the cost of your drink you could support a kid for a month or so. Of course unlike the commercials, this camp was actually heavily armed.
The gates themselves were defended by men in the knightly armor of the Southern Cross. They wore a mixture of armor, I only really recognized the Civil Defense Corps guard. As they let us into the camp the first thing that caught my eye was a Southern Cross hovertank.
The hover tank sat just inside the camp in gun mode or whatever it’s called, a big box on a set of legs with a huge barrel sticking out of the front. The tank itself looked just like the toy that Marius and Robert played with it. Well, accept the tank of course appeared to have all its parts, unlike Marius and Robert’s toy which were missing parts as early as I remember it.
Anyways, I digress. Our escort led us through the camp; it was full of refugees and military personnel. Eventually we were led to a tent where a woman in the shiny armor of the Southern Cross greeted us. She introduced herself as Captain Caiaphas.
Her men took Jimmy away to have his injuries looked at. We were invited into the tent where we met the leader of the camp. Sitting in a chair was a figured dressed in traditional Middle Eastern wear, as much as to protect her from the desert weather. She was an ancient woman who eyes looked like it had seen a lot in her existence on this planet. She had asked why we were on the run.
She listened intently to our story. Afterwards she explained how her people came to be here. Refugees from the War against the Masters, they were too tired and too worn out to fight the Invid when they arrived. So the old lady led her people into the desert where the Invid would not bother them. She took a great interest in the Doctor. However, before the Doctor could fully explain her ideas, the old lady fell asleep.
The Captain Caiaphas led us over to mess hall to get some warm food. The warm prepared food was heaven sent. I haven’t had a good meal in such a long time, at least since the Paris incident. As we enjoyed the food, we saw the various people come. There was a real mixture of people…there even a few Zentraedi. As we eat and discussed the situation we were in, the light turned off.
We headed out of the mess tent only to find that the entire camp had lost power. Quickly we noticed that there was a bunch of activity around the hovertank. We headed over there we found some guards, technicians and the old lady working on the hovertank who had wires hanging out of the back of it. Apparently, they had been using the hovertank’s power plant to power the camp.
The Doctor and Comrade volunteered to help repair the tank while I went to check on Jimmy. I was really concerned about Jimmy. He was not responding well to his injuries and out near constant travel had not helped his wounds at all. And all I could do is stand in front of medical tent and smoke my cigarettes as I waited word on Jimmy.
Eventually the Doctor and Comrade got the hovertank working again. They even worked out a deal, with the old lady. The camp would nurse Jimmy back to health and we would find them a more reliable fusion reactor to replace the hovertank. We would even be given the hovertank, once we had found the replacement engine.
The Doctor and Comrade immediately began debating on where we could go find a reactor. The Doctor wanted to go to Egypt where a known E.B.S.I.S. base is located. We were sure to find to a reactor, she argued. And the odds were also good we would find a nuclear weapon. The Comrade disagreed, the base would most likely have soldiers and they would not be happy to see them. We did not have the firepower to take any reactors we find there.
The Comrade pushed for Western Africa, where many old RDF bases were located. It would be less likely that we would face any organized opposition and many of the bases were mothballed. The Doctor however argued that because the bases had been mothballed so long ago, the odds were good that the bases were already looted. Still, the Comrade’s logic won out and we would head out to West Africa the next morning.
At that point I snapped. The plan would take us a thousand miles from Jimmy into unknown territory. How would the three of us be able to take a reactor? How could the three of us be able to take on the Invid? Would Jimmy ever recover? It was too much to take. I curled up into a small ball.
Eventually, the Doctor was able to slap out of it. She pulled me into a spare tent in the camp. Once the Doctor was sure there was no one around, she drew a knife and threw it at my feet. The Doctor then pulled out her ‘Kilojoule’ toy gun and pointed at me. I asked what I had done this time to get her gun pointed at me. She wanted to cut myself with the knife. I demanded to know why.
The Doctor said it was the only way to prove that I was not an Invid. I tried to reason with her, but her only response was to raise the setting of the her toy gun. Finally, I relented and picked up the knife and cut my hand. When my red blood spilled, the Doctor was satisfied. The Doctor then asked with my help with Comrade.
So the Doctor and I eventually were able to isolate the Comrade in a tent. Again the Doctor threw a knife at the Comrade’s feet. And again she pulled her toy gun on the Comrade and demanded him to cut himself to prove that he was not the Invid. The Comrade was very angry that the Doctor dared point of the gun at him. I tried to calm him down and explained the fastest way to resolve it was to cut himself.
The Comrade finally relented and cut himself with the knife. His red blood signified that he was as human as the rest of us. The Doctor lowered her toy gun and in instant the Comrade was upon her. In a flash he ripped the gun out of her hands and demanded to know why she put him through that. The two had a huge argument and each left in a huff.
We gathered our gear and prepared to head out in the Hummer. The Captain Caiaphas also provided us a Cyclone that I had never seen before. It looked physically bigger and more reinforced than any Cyclone I had ever seen. The Captain Caiaphas stated it was a Samson, a construction Cyclone and that it could help us get that reactor.
The next week we spent traveling to an old RDF base, called Fort Niamey out in the African grasslands. The Comrade and the Doctor barely said a word to each other the entire trip. About the topic that came up in the conversation was this memoir. The Doctor had agreed to help me make this work look a lot more professional. So if you’re reading this and you find a typo, you can’t blame it all on my tenth grade education.
Anyways, I digress. After a week’s travel we found ourselves on the outskirts of the old RDF base. It appeared a small town had grown up around it. It looked like the base was intact and had a large, guarded fence surrounding it. Surrounding that was a…how you say…
ramble shack” town made of whatever people could find to build houses out of.
We parked the Hummer on the outskirts of town. We managed to convince a local to keep an eye on the Hummer and it would be in his best interest to ensure that nothing was taken from the Hummer. We then headed into the ramble shack town looking for a bar. A bar would be a good place to find out information about the town and the base that lies on the inside.
We found this bar that was a little hole in the wall. It was dark; it was hazy; the entire place was filled with some disreputable people that I would trust in a church; it felt like home. The only person that stood out was a man sitting in the corner. He was fiddling with some sort of device, occasionally stopping to get a drink. A classic engineer if ever I saw one.
I noticed that the Doctor was really nervous about being in such a place. I had her sit near me the bar as I ordered some drinks to help calm her down. The Comrade sat around the corner of the bar and ordered a drink. The drinks were pretty watered down, but they at least parched out thirst.
I inquired about the base from the bartender. The bartender told me that only certain people who worked on the base were allowed in it. The rest of the people could only sit in the shack town and hope for an opportunity to even work. We began to mull over our options when the front door of the bar exploded open.
Three Zentraedi with shotguns entered the bar. The lead Zentraedi shouted out, “Today you’re going to pay” and lowered his shotgun at the Doctor, bartender, and I. I immediately flipped over the bar just before the Zentraedi’s gun went off. Behind the bar is safest place to be in a gunfight as it provides a lot off cover. Also the bartender tends to keep his firearms there for easy access. Finally the booze is right there in case you need a shot of “courage.” How do I know such things, as I say I am not a nice girl.
The Doctor joined the bartender and I on the safe side of the bar. Unfortunately, the second Zentraedi raced around to behind the bar and fired another blast, injuring the bartender. The third Zentraedi and the Comrade exchanged fire, the Comrade getting the better of the exchange.
I drew my kilojoule gun and ran up to the second Zentraedi fired it point blank into his chest. He dropped with a huge hole in his chest. The Doctor popped up with her kilojoule gun and killed the lead Zentraedi with a blast to the head. As his headless body dropped to the ground, the duel between the remaining Zentraedi and the Comrade continued. Though the Comrade had the upperhand, the wounded Zentraedi put up quite a fight. The Doctor got the final shot in and dropped the remaining Zentraedi.
As looked I at the Zentraedi, I couldn’t help but imagine Jimmy lying there bleeding out. I was starting to get really worried about Jimmy again, how can I help him? What could I do? I began to curl up in a ball…
Tags: Memoirs Robotech Mekton
