Chapter 5: Abandon Ship!
We decided that we still needed to head north to the industrial part
of the city, to see what salvage up there. This meant we would have
to go by the Invid hive once more, but they didn't notice the first
time we sailed past so hopefully they wouldn't notice us the second
time. After all, there is no reason for them to realize that we are
the same group that raided that cache under the Ecole Militiare.
As we heading north, we went under one of the various bridges that
cross over the Seine River. However as we crossed, we heard the
loud noise of mecha walking across the bridge. It was so loud that
I could here over the barge's engine. Rather than having to
continue traveling down the river and having to deal with what ever
it was on top of the bridge (the barge doesn't move fast enough to
prevent someone getting a good look at its contents), I decided to
bring the barge to a stop under the bridge. Hopefully whatever was
on the bridge would not see us and would just move on into town
However that was not to be. Unbeknownst to me, along the shore was
one of the armed Lobsters. It had decided that we were a threat and
thus needed to be eliminated. Its guns ports glowed with purple
rage, as it was about to fire. The Doctor and the Marine fired on
it with their `toy guns' and killed it before it could fire on us
but that when all hell broke loose. Another Lobster jumped of the
bridge and landed in front of us, while four of the Armed Crabs
jumped off the bridge and landed behind us. The Lobster and one of
the Crabs tear into the hull as the rest close in on the barge.
The Marine jumps on his bike and the weirdest thing I ever seen to
date occurred. The bike literally began wrapping around him and
soon the Marine was no longer on a bike but was now incased in a
miniature mecha. So that why the Expeditionary Forces bikes used
Protoculture!! Their infantry are expected to be able fight mecha
with them. Very amazing! I vowed to learn how to use one.
The Marine then fired missiles on one of the Crabs and dispatched it.
The Comrade and his crew jumped in the Pride of Russia and
brought up to speed. Showing the effiency of an experienced tank
crew, they quickly de-cloaked the hover tank and got ready for a
battle. They eliminated the lobster with an array laser (the small
gun on their hover tank) and took out one of the Crabs.
The Doctor ran to the back of the pick-up and began looking
for weapons. She found the payload rifle. The Payload Rifle was a
rifle originally designed to help Southern Cross troops on foot
fight Zentraedi in their mecha. So surely, the Payload Rifle would
enable the Doctor to take out the Invid. Her first shot hit and
took out an armed Crab. The other shot missed.
The Knight grabbed Jacque and hopped on one of the liberated
Hovercycles. He couldn't go anywhere but kept his engine revved
then just in case the opportunity arose. He didn't have to wait
very long.
Seeing the barge taking on water I moved the barge over to
the side of the Seine. I then raced over to pickup to get off the
fast sinking barge. As I raced over to the pickup a claw burst up
through the deck and took a section of the barge…and my bike with
it. That was frustrating. I drove through most of the Bois de la
Brigade de Marine in getting away from the original orders. You
know how hard it is to drive a bike in the middle of the woods in
the dark of night???
Anways I digress, as soon as the barge got near the shore,
the Hover Tank rolled out on to the shore and began engaging Invid.
Including six new Crabs coming from the Invid hive. The Tank
engaged and took out 3 of the Crabs with its main gun. The Knight
immediately got of the barge and headed north down the roadway
towards the Eiffel Tower. However three more Lobsters arrived, and
he was forced to turn around and head south. He fired a missile at
one of the Crabs as he moved away, and took it out.
The Marine held his ground engaging Crabs; he took one out
with his missiles. Unfortunately by standing his ground, he made
himself a prime target of the Invid. Most of the Invid shot at him,
and shot up his Cyclone Power Armor pretty good. I attempted to get
away with the pick-up, but when I jumped the pick-up from the barge
and to the shore, I must have not landed correctly. While I was
driving away, I saw in my rear mirror view that Doctor fell out.
Meanwhile a Crab took a swipe at the tank. The Crab hit
across the turret of the tank, but otherwise the tank was still
operational. The tank fired its cannon again and took out two
Lobsters and one of the Scouts. As I came to a stop, I saw a tank-
hating Crab shoot by me. Joan fired a burst in frustration as it
went by, the bullets bounced harmless off it. Unfortunately it
seems that Joan and Charles were out of their league. At that
point, I felt a large thump on the back of my pick-up. The Knight
had landed his hover cycle literally on the back of the truck.
Before I had even realized, Jacques had jumped of the hovercycle,
jumped through the open cab window and was hiding in the floorboard
of the passenger side of the cab. I guess that amazing ability to
take cover so quickly, explained how he was able to survive by
himself.
The Marine was still on the barge at this point; he jumped
clear of the sinking ship and destroyed the last Lobster. He then
picked up the Doctor. The tank then took out the remaining Crab.
We looked around quickly and found that we had somehow survived the
battle. Though we had loss our spare vehicles and the barge, we
counted ourselves lucky. We headed south to find a safe spot to
lick our wounds….
Tags: Memoirs Robotech Mekton
