The Protoculture Wars
Derek Sherman
Robotech:
Alternate Points
Of View
David
Marshall
This book is dedicated to the following people:
Aubry "Neoculture" Thonon (aubry.thonon@qed.qld.gov.au)
K. Wiley (kkwiley@uccs.edu)
Alex (profnut@nyongwa.montreal.qc.ca)
Steve (epustay@aol.com)
Kirstin (adathono@cc.uq.edu.au)
The Ever-Mysterious Izabelle "IZI" Fate (whom I hope to *never* meet in
real life)
And everyone who ever wrote a fanfic that I liked :)
Legal Stuff
This work is c 1994-1996 by Derek Sherman, except for the portions directly
related to other characters. It should be noted that Robotech and all things
Robotech-related are owned by Harmony Gold.
Feel free to copy this book and distribute it as long as:
A) The copyright notices are left in;
B) If it is printed in a fanzine or any other free,
non-profit publication, could you mail me a copy
please?
C) It may *not* be printed in a commercial publication
without the prior assent of *all* the copyright
owners, myself included.
I apologize to Aubry for lifting some of the previous section from his part
of this "collective fanfic", but I'm not very good at dedications or
legal-type stuff.
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Episode 01
[Time Hack - Saturday 27 June 2009, 1324 hours, Macross Island SDF-1 Base]
<Man, that's a big sucker.> David thought for the hundredth
time as he gazed up at the SDF-1. He was standing near one
of the static aircraft displays that were resting beneath
the massive vessel's bow, the midday sun hidden from view
by the starship's massive bow. <At least it doubles as an
effective sunscreen.>
He smiled slightly at that, and returned his gaze to the
crowd around him. Nearly everyone from the city was here,
partying hard and enjoying the moment. He wondered absently
how many of them actually realized what the departure of
the SDF-1 would mean to this place. Sure, the planet would
have a new defender, but for the most part Macross city
would cease to exist. Nearly all of the civilian population
of the island - including himself - were serving in support
roles for the crew of the ship - a ship that was soon to
leave it's cradle behind. <Ah well, life goes on.>
Then his gaze fell upon one of several "Veritech"
fighters that were lined up for public inspection. He was
amazed how much these new aircraft looked like the old F14
"Tomcats" used by the United States during the latter part
of the last century. <You'd think that they'd come up with
something more exotic when designing a combat aircraft that
incorporated alien technology.> Still, he couldn't quite
repress a shudder as he examined the aircraft from a
distance. He was tempted to get closer, to climb up the
ladder and peer into the cockpit, but he knew that it would
be a mistake. Old memories - and the pain associated with
them - would be too hard to suppress, to difficult to
prevent from running riot through his soul again.
Averting his eyes from the aircraft, David grimaced as
the memory of that tragic day surfaced. <*Base tower, this
is Angel Two, I am reporting an in-flight emergency,
over.*> He could feel the shudder of the aircraft as it
started to lose control. He could hear the tortured whine
of the port engine as he tried to compensate for the
failure of the starboard turbine. He could see the harsh
sunlight upon his face as the aircraft swung sharply to the
right... could feel the sun's warmth on his cheek. It felt
so real, more real than the memories ever had before.
<Wait a minute.> he thought, looking up. He wasn't caught
in a reverie this time, the sun really _WAS_ shining upon
his face. The bow of the SDF-1 had split open like some
collosal tuning fork, the two halves moving apart on a
massive cam-like device, and the sun was glaring through
the gap. The two halves came to a halt, and the glow from
above intensified. Looking closer, he saw that there was
also some sort of orangish, arcing energy leaping between
the two halves of the SDF-1's bow. The sound that
accompanied that energy was unlike anything he had ever
heard - a warbling, whining noise that echoed off of the
nearby buildings and rattled the fillings in his teeth.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as David looked around
him. Every single person in the crowd, even the military
personnel, was staring at the unexpected light show above
them. A feeling of vulnerability surged through him, and he
glanced around quickly - there was no place in the
immediate area that would offer any kind of shelter.
Looking up again, David was horrified to see the energy
discharges thicken and stream towards the tips of the two
booms. He covered his ears and dropped to his knees as the
entire area was flooded with a brilliant orange light. The
blinding glare lasted a full three seconds, and was
followed by and a rolling peal of thunder that seemed to
explode all around him.
David waited until the last echoes of thunder had faded
before looking up. The SDF-1's bow was back in one piece as
if nothing had happened. <I didn't imagine all that, did
I?> he wondered, looking around. Most of the people who had
been standing mere seconds before were now crouched on the
ground, sprawled under tables, or hugging each other
tightly. David couldn't help but notice that they all had
one thing in common - everyone staring dumbfoundedly at the
SDF-1. Turning a slow circle, David's eyes fell on the
cliff face that dominated the city's skyline. A large chunk
had been torn from the center of the cliff, and steam or
smoke could be seen rising beyond. <What the hell just
happened?>
David saw the helicopters that had been circling around
the SDF-1 veer away as air raid sirens began blaring all
over the island. Feeling more confused then ever, David
began making his way towards the city as a male voice rang
out over the public address system. "Enemy forces
approaching in sector four-one-two!" His eyes widened in
disbelief and he stopped in his tracks as the impact of
those words sank in - if he remembered his charts
correctly, sector 412 was out near the orbit of the moon.
He gazed back up at the SDF-1 - which was, technically, an
alien ship. And now some "enemy force" was approaching from
deep space.
"Damn. It couldn't be."
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Derek