09
May/2008
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Memoirs of a Marquis Member: Chapter 8: A Bout De Souffle
Chapter 8: A Bout De Souffle
As we came back down the Alps, we pondered our next move. The Comrade really wanted the opportunity to repair the Pride of Russia. In fact we had acquired a great deal of mecha that had been banged up. The Marine’s cyclone was still pretty beat up and we acquired a scout Cyclone, which the Marine called a ‘Ferret’ that was also beat up. So really needed a place we could stay a while and get the opportunity to work on our machines.
I recommended Monaco. It was a port city that would have lots of warehouses to store goods that were be imported or exported out of France. Currently, due to the Invid, most of the warehouses would have fallen into disuse since the supply chain is now pretty much non-existent. We could hide in one of the warehouses and no one would ever know we were there. In addition we could perhaps find some raw materials that our tank crew can then use to repair our machines.
As we headed south, the Marine’s newly acquired Battloid picked up a radio message. It was a Southern Cross soldier from the château! He had a message for the Doctor! The Doctor went up to Marine’s Battloid to answer the message. What the soldier had to say surprised us.
Apparently, the Doctor’s brother had visited the château before our party had the misfortune of visiting it. He apparently got sick of the place and left. He didn’t go up north to Oslo like the Doctor and Marine were planning. Apparently the Invid had overrun Norway and placed three hives around Oslo. Apparently, he went down south to Fort Hope, the UEG headquarters for Africa. And apparently, I like to write apparently too much.
Anyways I digress, the Southern Cross soldier mentioned that the Battloid we acquired from them was actually in fact, the Doctor’s brother’s. He had to leave it behind, to make his escape from the château. Leaving us with that piece of knowledge, he said his farewells and went off the air. He was afraid he had been on too long and the others would find out whom he was talking to.
We spent the next couple of days traveling to Monaco. Once again we traveled at night and hid during the day to ensure we would not be spotted by a roaming Invid patrol. Once we got close to Monaco, the Doctor and I took my newly acquired Forager to warehouse district.
The warehouse district was quiet. With trade disrupted by the Invid, there was no reason for anybody to be in the district. So the warehouses sat there just decaying away, silent symbols of a bygone era. We went back and got the others and they moved their vehicles into an abandoned warehouse. The Battloid had no problems moving in to the district. The Pride of Russia on the other hand, it could barely fit down the narrow streets of Monaco. Not that it really bothered the tank, as it moved what ever it was in front of it out of the way.
Once we all got settled into the warehouse, we all decided to various chores. The tank crew immediately began repairing the Pride of Russia with help from the Marine. The Doctor apparently had a boyfriend here and wanted to go meet him. After putting on a blonde wig, I decided to take her on a tour of Monaco.
You see Monaco is my hometown; I was born and raised here. I know this place like the back of my hand, I have how you say ‘home court advantage’ here. Unfortunately, I am also well known by people in Monaco. My friends, the police, the mob, everyone. So I wore the wig to hide the fact that I was in town for as long as possible.
The first place we went to was my parents house. I wanted to let them know that I was back in town and in good health. I owed it to them. The Doctor agreed and we took my Forager over to their house. The familiar warm sea breeze felt good on my face as we drove to my parents house. I knew the way by heart and could have driven there blindfolded if necessary, though I think that would freaked out my passenger.
We soon arrived at my parents house. It was exactly how I remembered it a simple two-story affair with a walk on the second floor so one can go out and enjoy the nice sea breeze and see the ships as they come into port. I went up to the door and knocked as I did so the Doctor heard something above.
I was going to look up to see what it was, but then someone answered the door. It was Mama! It took her only about two seconds to see through my disguise and realize it was her little daughter. She immediately hugged me and told my brother Robert that it was okay. Robert came down stairs holding a shotgun, he had been up on the second floor covering the door just in case we were unfriendly. Good ol’ Robert, while the rest of family joined the military, married their sweethearts, or in the case of I forced to flee, Robert had joined the merchant Marines. He had deliberately stayed close to look after parents.
Then Papa came into the room to see what the commotion was all about. As expected he was not happy to see me. He was always disappointed with my lifestyle and was angry that I could steep so low. Papa immediately asked about the Doctor. “I told him that she was Doctor Augusta Witherspoon and I was acting as a guide for the group.” He immediately asked me if I was now a mercenary, a person who sold her services to the highest bidder. I told him that I wasn’t. He immediately implied that I was then “giving it away for free.” I told no I just enjoyed the company. With that he got frustrated with me and left.
Mama, Robert, and I took the opportunity to catch and trade whatever information we had on our two missing family members. I could at least tell my family that the Expeditionary Forces were still active somewhere out in the galaxy. But other than that I can’t tell them anything about Celeste because I didn’t know anything more than they did. It was then I recognized that familiar tremor, that ominous familiar tremor.
Even here in Monaco, in my own back yard; the Invid were on the watch and on patrol. Three of those hideous lobsters came walking in down the street. We stayed in the house and took cover. The lobsters were quite happy to continue the patrol. They turned and headed down the street when sudden we heard an energy discharge. We turned to look and one of the lobsters had fallen down, not moving. We then saw a cyclone go flying over the landscape, carefully landing on top of a nearby building. One of the lobster followed suit, but was not so careful. The lobster crushed the building flat without a care in world. The second lobster ran around the corner to cut off the cyclone.
The Doctor and I immediately when into pursuit before the lobsters destroyed the town by accident. I raced around the corner only to see the lobster that had turned to face me. The cyclone immediately shot another blast, taking out the lobster that I was facing. That just left the remaining house wrecking lobster. It took a couple of swings at the cyclone but coutldn’t touch the lobster. I fired a couple volley of rockets from my Forager, just like the Marine taught me. The volleys rang true and cause significant damage to the lobster. The Doctor came around the corner at that point and her ‘toy gun’ finished off the lobster before it could cause more damage.
At that point, my van came shooting around the corner. I just managed to get out of the way as it came to a screeching halt right in front of one of the downed lobster. The driver of my van turned out to be the Comrade, who had raced to help us out in the fighting. The cyclone rider also turned out to be the Marine using our newly acquired Ferret. The Marine apparently was getting in the way of repairs and decided to go out joyriding.
We all decided to head back to my parents house to wait until the heat died off. As was customary, I began having a smoke as did the Doctor. As I did, I noticed the wide-eyed stare of my Mama looking in disbelief. I had until that moment always hidden my smoking from her, and I had in a moment of relief revealed that secret on accident. I immediately pulled that cigarette and tried to hide it behind my back in vain attempt to keep my secret. That was then my asthma attack occurred.
Now here I feel I owe you a bit of backstory. When I was briefly in high school, I attended Chemistry class. Like many mischievous students, one day when my professor had to leave class briefly, my fellow students and I got into the chemicals and began mixing them to see what happened. I apparently was standing too close for too long, as I breathed too much of the noxious fumes in and immediately had an asthmatic reaction. Ever since then I have the occasional asthma attack. Its probably made worse by the smoking but bad habits are often hard to break.
Anyways back to the situation. I fell to the ground gasping for air. I couldn’t do much except get as much air into my lungs as possible (which wasn’t much). The group then scrambled to something, I really didn’t pay attention to what was going on as I was a little preoccupied at that moment. A few minutes later, the Marine showed up with the inhaler that I keep in the van. I took a deep breath with the inhaler’s mist and immediately began feeling relief. Mama and the Doctor were apparently having an argument over the coffee that the Doctor was drinking. Something about the coffee being used to help my breathing but it was no longer necessary because I had the inhaler.
I really couldn’t follow the conversation. I was too exhausted by the episode. I just lay there in the middle of the floor try to get my breath and energy back. At that point, Robert picked up and carried me to my room. I finally was going to be able to take a nap, albeit a forced nap, in familiar surroundings…
Tags: Memoirs Robotech Mekton
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