Rubicon

Attention Attention. To all Zendraedi and UEEF Forces. I am not a person really for long speeches, but times are changing. I now must learn to talk and not just act. We now approach the point of no return, our Rubicon borrowing from human history. Here we make the decision to continue as one fighting force or go our separate ways. Here were we decide continue our fight against not just one common foe, but now three or capitulate to would be tyrants.   Zentraedi we been the Robotech Master's slave and pawns that they easily caste off like unwanted waste. Now that our usefulness is at an end and large enough group is now aware of their lies.  Also the idea of Freedom. We were told we were doing what we did for the universal greater good and they were "gods" who willing, forced, to served, being thankful to them for our creation. Under their manipulation we suppressed their opposition and conquered new territory in their name. Bring, what we were made to believe true culture, structure and laws to the savage non-believers. We were made to be hated and feared monsters by the other races we help enslave in the name of our false gods. Here where we fix that and become the protectors and heroes we can be. we must change how others view us, for they would be the ones telling our story long after our departure. For our creators put in some fail safes to ensure if we broke away we would not be able to continue as a race. We do not have the power to continue producing clones indefinably and would have to look for alternatives for our race to continue. On problem all of you are truly brothers and sisters. From my understanding from the humans teaching inbreeding would lead to offspring with mental and physical deficiencies.  Which would compound with each generation till they become fully sterile and incapable of taking care of themselves. We could run one more line of clones with a greater genetic diversity to continue as a race or mix with another creating a new race. That point Zentraedi stop as a single race and becomes an idea supported by many races. Either way Zendraedi will make a legacy of true honor and valor. Not the monsters to be fear. Before you say anything those that rule by fear are those short lived. People regardless of race overcome their fear once they reach their limit. As we have witnessed with the Invid that embraced this method of rule and even with the Masters. How many rebellion we had to put down in the past to enforce the fear they wanted to rule by. We must evolve grow and become an example to inspire others looking to be free. Here where you are to make the choice we as a race will go.        Soldiers of Earth.  We heard the confession of the saboteur and his "Lord". The forces working against us from within.  Many of you were selected to go on the mission to the ice planet to die. They look down on you as they do me, to be people who would not succeed. Those they can Throw away to further their lust for power. Through fear, coercion and bribery Edwards and his supports has taking control of a large portion of the UEEF. He embracing title Lord and demanding tribute from the worlds we fought to liberate. Showing the the other races of the galaxy your kind is the new alien threat to stand against and not one to look to for assistance. This mission of conquest is not what the UEEF was created for. You have gone from a mission of exploration and goodwill to one of invading aliens. Yes humans you now the Aliens and the path Edwards is taking the mission will leave the dark stain on you as a whole as the Master did us Zentraedi.  We will not try engage the UEEF forces under Edwards control. We only engage if they decide to engage us. We already have enough enemies to deal with then worry if we destroyed misinformed member of the UEEF or true supports of Edwards lust for power. One enemy we faced and know we can handle, those are the Invid. Now there the new threat if any need proof the vileness of this new threat take a walk through the Daedalus and see for yourselves what it was able to get it crew to do with each other and combat cams of the after effects. Even to us Zentraedi do not mess with the dead as this new threat feel free to do. I ask you to stay with us and continue to fight and help us through this culture change my people will have to go through to survive. As promised you want to rejoin the fleet a ship will be given a ship and aloud to leave. No harm will come to you. Those that do stay will be considered as Zendraedi and treated no different than we treat each other. Of course this would be till we can link back up to the Hunters. Which again you can return to UEEF or stay as the new Zentraedi. Here is were you decide.      I await your anwser.                                                                                                                                                                           

Fantoma , the Abandoned city of Zarkopolis.   Breathing hard, a lone Zentraedi giant took a seat on the weathered steps leading upward to the peak of the mountain. This had been his seventh time sprinting up to the old coms tower, pushing himself hard each time. Batting against the weight of his armour, the increased gravity of the planet and the unfocused anger that was brewing within him.  Looking out over the remnants of a city, apparently his city , he watched with a critical eye the restoration works. Once again, he felt the unfamiliar pangs of regret and loss as fragments of memories, disjointed visual snippets of a life that perhaps he had once know cavorted tantalisingly just beyond reach at the corners of his mind. Memories and perhaps a life that had been stolen from him… Cursing himself inwardly he squinted,raising his eyes skyward as he frowned at the dense boiling cloud cover. Rumours had been running rampant that somewhere up above the SDF3 silently prowled.  The vessel that T.R.Edwards had claimed in his ascension to Grand Leader of the REF. “Or whatever title he had chosen for himself this day!” Breetai muttered to himself. In his opinion the vessel should have travelled to Praxis , it might well have changed the tide of that ill-fated battle. Yet it had been kept hidden, kept held in reserve. Breetai suspected that its location was being kept hidden from many on the Plenipotentiary Council as well.  He still harboured cold anger at the xenophobic hatred he had born, few of these Wise micronians on the council cared to remember that he had sided with them during the great battle for their home world of earth, that he had turning against his master Lord Dolza … Perhaps it was for the bet that he had chosen to sever ties with the Micronians. The purity, the focus of their mission felt like it had been being corrupted following the deaths of the Hunters, and he would not be party to it.  Exedor however, his long-time friend akin to a brother, had chosen to remain.  It had not helped that the micronisation chamber had failed, Exedor was left trapped in his reduced form, never to truly be able to stand at his side again.  A barb that strained their kinship Breetai was forced to admit.   Thus it was that he had travelled here with a force of loyal warriors. He had hoped to find peace of mind in the rigors of physical training and drill work. Yet the frustration and anger gnawed at him from within, whispering of a foreboding future. Instinct, honed by conflict, warned to prepare.   A muted chirping from his communicator broke his reverie, glancing down Breetai groaned inwardly as he answered the encrypted call. “ Exador , I thought we had agreed to keep our distance?” “My lord…I gather that you chose to do so literally.” The pause, due to their use of the Old Tongue, was unintentional yet conveyed the discomfort at buried emotions the two Zentraedi officers felt. “It would appear that you were able to reach out to me none the less. You know me too well old friend.” Breetai dipped his head as he composed himself. “You have news? Has my name been added to Edwards list of enemies?” “Not at this time my Lord, thought I suspect should he not receive the Monopole ore that he so desperately desires the that will likely change.” Exador stated flatly. “A sentiment of anger and fear festers amongst our people, those that remain here.  Some have turned to violence, some to mercenary work. There was an attempted assassination by micronized Zentraedi against Karbarren Elders…” “I ordered no such actions, you have my word. I command no micronized troops.” The words left his lips before Breetai realised the connotations, the unspoken slight. “Those who are trapped in this form are well aware that we do not fit well into either world my Lord.” Exadors face contorted as he failed to mask the anguish of his position. “It is doubtful that these were true Zentraedi warriors that carried out these actions. The cadavers, what was left of them, indicated tattoo works and branding of the flesh. Not once in our history has there been a time that we undertook self-mutilation.”  “Yet another weak ruse, another narrative created to villainize…” Breetai’s comment uncharacteristically interrupted. “The target was neither you nor I for once my Lord. Many events have transpired since you…Relocated. Where to start, the SDF3. The vessels Fold Drives were severely damaged during the Liberation of Tirol and repair works are delicate and extremely time consuming. As you know, the Regent has entered negotiations, though for what purpose I can not say. A ruse, a play for time or perhaps a chance to assess our strengths…” Exador theorised. “That raises the question, can the alliance stand against his forces?” Breetai voice low as he tried to predict the outcome of such a conflict. “I am a tactician Lord, statistically were we a united front, then it would be difficult.  The alliance is fracturing. Many voices, many human voices, fear being drawn into a protracted war that might prevent them returning to save their homeworld from the Robotech Masters.” “You mentioned that neither you nor I were the target of the propaganda smear. What are you not telling me?” Breetai’s military demeanour focusing of the threads of conversation that had been left unattended. “We may have another piece in play, a Zentraedi Officer, a self-declared warlord has absconded with a Robotech Masters Repair Station. A series of recovered messages from various sources may be indicative of a neurological programming failure of some sort. So from the information I gathered from T.R.Edwards network, this Warlord had declared himself dictator of a New Zentraedi Republic . He even goes so far as to call himself the “Child of Helios” … A faint smile played at the edges of Breetai’s unmarred eye. “Does he indeed… Exedor , the game has changed.  If the Alliance is fracturing, grasp what fragments you can, draw them to me.  No, correction draw them to US.  Time is of the essence my friend, we both have much work to achieve before Edwards chooses to show his hand…. “ 

The Royal Palace, Tirol Lang allowed himself to wander about the once ornate hallways of the Royal Palace of Tirol. Surrounded by discarded and broken relics of opulence, the wreckage in this forgotten wing served as a stark warning. “The trappings of excess…The fragility of a society, yet we fail to learn?” Dr Lang mused to himself, reflecting on yet another petty argument that Edwards had initiated. With Rick and Lisa and all the other men and women who had joined the Sentinels' cause missing and presumed dead, there were precious few people Dr. Lang could trust, let alone seek out for either company or counsel. The mood of the Plenipotentiary Council had changed considerably amongst the members, only Justine Huxley and Niles Obstat were still receptive towards him. It appeared that Edwards had managed to influence the remaining members to one degree or another. Except of course for Exedore , who had become the doctors unofficial ally and close friend. Even Lynn-Minmei had been turned, however by what, he could not fathom.   Lang was well accustomed to isolation; even when it wasn't self-imposed. He would endure, his stoic fortitude would carry him onward against adversity, he had vowed. Thus far, he had been managing to hold his own with the council, despite Edwards ministrations. Yet each petty hinderance, each subversive attack, represented yet another draining intrusion into his efforts at coordinating the critical repairs needed for the SDF-3. But the unexpected shock of the Regent's visit had introduced something new and threatening to the horizon: the possibility of a partnership between Edwards and the Invid. Lang had seen Protoculture shape stranger events these past twenty years, but none so potentially dangerous to the Expeditionary mission.  To the peoples of Tirol , to the citizens of Earth itself. Something within him had refused to accept the Hunter's death; instinctively he knew others clung to the same thread of hope, but he had nevertheless been ineffective in persuading the council. He had proposed that they were honour bound to launch a rescue ship, for even now when there were several available with the capability for the required spacefold.  Some designed to run on Sekiton ore , others on the recently mined monopole fuels.  His arguments fell on deaf ears. Despite these setbacks, it was the Regent's behaviour at the introductory summit sessions that had finally galvanised his resolve, forcing him to take matters into his own hands. And it was that decision that brought him to Fantoma . He had allowed his godson and apprentice, Scott Bernard, to accompany him, but was forced to leave Exedore behind on the fortress to safeguard their mutual interests while the Regent's fleet remained anchored in Fantomaspace . Favours and promises were traded, in dark places. None had cost him as dearly as the fob watch. Passed down through his lineage, father unto son, in his desperation his action erased…Scott would never have a chance to play his role in their heritage. Looking down at the debris in this abandoned hallway, a bitter bile welled in his gut with the realization that, he himself, had ignored the lessons scattered here at his feet.    Lang's reasons for choosing Fantoma could be summed up in one word: Breetai . He was aware of the hostilities that had cropped up between Breetai and Edwards over the issue of the Regent's arrival, and he knew precisely where the Zentraedi's loyalties lay. For where Breetai went, so followed his cadre of sixty-foot biogenetically engineered warriors, a force to be reckoned with. For none knew the true number he commanded after shunning the authority of the Plenipotentiary Council . Surely, they would be a force to be reckoned with, one that would force Edwards back to the negotiation table, no matter what the council's ultimate decisions might be.