Chapter 17:  Land and Freedom

As we headed out, we got a call from Sergeant Jelovich.  Unfortunately, Annika had a relapse and needed medical attention.  We returned back to our base and the Comrade took Annika and our Hummer to see the Doctor Issac.

This left just the Doctor, Jimmy, and I to go on the how you say “stake out”.  We had to be a bit more choosy about our equipment as we were limited to just our Cyclones now.  We took the typical supplies you would need to survive out in the wilderness. 

Still each of us, took a big rifle with us for extra protection. The Doctor took the Viper Grenade Launcher.  Capable of dumping a burst of grenades down range, the Viper can easily decimate a group of people.  Jimmy took a Southern Cross particle cannon.  The particle cannon would have fetched a good price on the black market.  And when somebody like Jimmy had his hands on one it was easy to see why it was so highly valued.  Me, I chose to stick with the good ol’ dependable Bushmaster.  It has a high rate of fire, perfect for forcing people to keep their heads down as we make our get away.

Anyways I digress, we left the base in Sergeant Jelovich’s capable hands and headed out.  Jimmy recommended that we go observe a huge hive he saw out near Bordeau and the Atlantic Ocean.  The only other place nearby that had Invid Hives was the Alps.  Since it was middle of November, it was rapidly agreed upon that we would head to Bordeau.

For me it was a trying journey, I tried to ration the few remaining cigarettes but the cravings kicked and smoked my last cigarette before we started the trip. The next few days were very aggravating.  I had constant headaches and I couldn’t sleep very well for most of the trip.

The only relief I got came in a very macabre way.  As we were traveling, we came across a bombed out small town.  It must have been destroyed by the Masters in the last war.  Guarding the road stood a single guard post. 

As we approached the guard post we noticed, that it was still guarded by a police officer or soldier who had died a long time ago.  He still in his pockets four good cigarettes left.  He no longer needed them, I was desperate for a smoke.  So I made a quick prayer asking for Saint Maurus for help for my weakness, and then I took the cigarettes.  As I say I am not a nice girl.

Anyways I digress.  We traveled by cyclone until we got about 20 km from the Hive.  At this point it became too dangerous for us to travel by cyclone as we stood a good chance of being detected by the Invid.  So we buried our cyclones near an abandoned mansion.

We proceeded to hive by foot.  We took a trail that paralleled an old railway.  It took us past a couple of small towns near Bordeau.  In each of the small towns, the townsfolk saw us approach and all of them quickly hid.  They were fearful of us in the armor and whatever trouble we could bring.

We skirted the towns trying to avoid any trouble in the town.  However, as we cleared the second town, we notice that we were being followed.  Jimmy and I turned to try to see if we could sneak up on whoever was following us.  The guy managed to spot Jimmy sneaking up on him right away, but his eyes couldn’t be everywhere I was able to sneak behind him.  If he tried anything I would be ready.

The man was in his 60s and was sneaking through the woods in a hunter’s garb.  He sported a hunting rifle and although he didn’t have pointing at Jimmy, I felt like he was quite capable of using it.  The Doctor came up and talked to him.  Her French is getting quite good.

The old man wasn’t really interesting in knowing why we were here.  He was more interested in making sure we didn’t cause any problems for his town.   Before he let us go he made us promise to avoid the town if we had to make a sudden retreat.

We continued on to a hill that overlooked the hive.  As we found a good spot to over look the hive.  The hive was huge, according to the Doctor it was 2km in size.  Surrounding the hive was pillars which apparently enable the hive to protect itself with a force field. 

Inside the pillars were humans guarded by the human sized Invid.   The humans were being force to farm the Flower of Life, which has grown pretty much everywhere since the end of the Second Robotech War.  Also there were weird sort of mecha cats pulling around carts.  Jimmy called them Hellcats, and apparently they are used in combat.  With teeth like that, I could see why they would not be feared.

The Invid worked the people all day without break.  When night finally arrived, Lobsters arrived and escorted the people to Bordeau.  Before dawn the next morning, the Invid had brought back the people so they could begin working again as soon as it turned daylight.

We wanted to strike at the Invid but really didn’t know how.  The force field of the hive was up all day, only at night would the shields be down.  Attempts to find a way in would also prove useless according to Jimmy, as there only the Hive’s engine down below.

Having learned what we could, we headed back to base. The trip back was uneventful except the Doctor was able to procure a few packs of cigarettes in exchange for a dress.  That was great, because the headaches were really getting bad.  Still I really need to start pulling my own weight, I feel like that person that gets voted off that old British show—the weakest link.

Once we were at base, we were trying to figure out how we could strike at the Invid.  We didn’t have much as it was hard to strike at the Invid.  Their hives were impregnable.  After all even the small hives, proved to be impossible for the Comrade’s tank company to destroy, what chance did we have?

That is when I made a hesitant suggestion.  We could blow up the Eiffel Tower and take that hive with it.  If we could use the sewers, we could get underneath the Tower and collapse the ground underneath the Tower.  That would cause the Tower to fall over. 

The Doctor took idea and ran with it.  She wondered if there was a way to put a display of a giant Loraine Cross to let the Invid and the world know that there was a resistance movement.  She recommend that he make a giant banner for it to be displayed, I recommended that we use Ecole Militare to display the banner.

We had the explosives, but we didn’t have the expertise.  We did no one person who would know what to do, the Southern Cross soldier who we left behind in Monaco.  We would have to find him, to be able to have a chance of making this work. 

Unfortunately, every government official in Monaco would be looking for me.  I asked the Doctor to help dye my hair to help hide my identity.  The Doctor was able to use a make shift bleach for me, but told me afterwards that the bleach was more or less permanent.  I wish she had told me before, but I guess you have to make sacrifices for freedom…

Tags: Memoirs Robotech Mekton